llianlohnson  Curtis 


n—  n—  ji_  n_^-fL_^_™_  *g   » 


REESE  LIBRARY 

OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Qass- 


The  Laos  of  North  Siam 


BY 

LILLIAN  JOHNSON  CURTIS 

WITH    INTRODUCTION    BY 

ROBERT  E.  SPEER 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS  TAKEN  BY 
THE  AUTHOR 


Philadelphia 

The  Westminster  Press 

M  CM  II  I 


> 


COPYRIGHT,   1903, 
BY   LILLIAN  JOHNSON   CURTIS 

PUBLISHED,    MAY,    1903 


C? 


fto  m£  IbusbanD 

and 
Iparents, 

TKHbose  faftbtul  Devotion  ma^e  tbe  writing 
of  tbte  booft  possible,  is  it  affec* 
tionatel^ 


124 


flntrofcuction 


There  is  no  other  mission  field  which  has  had 
to  wait  as  long  as  Laos  for  an  adequate  account  of 
its  condition  and  needs  as  seen  by  the  missionaries. 
Indeed  there  are  only  half  a  dozen  books  which  deal 
with  these  northern  states  of  Siam  and  their  people. 
One  of  the  best  of  them,  Mr.  Hallett's  A  Thousand 
Miles  on  an  Elephant,  is  written  with  cordial  appre- 
ciation of  the  missionaries.  Indeed  it  is  dedicated 
to  them  and  to  the  neighboring  Baptist  missionaries 
in  Burma. 

"TO 

THE  AMERICAN  MISSIONARIES  IN  BURMA, 

SIAM,  AND  THE  SHAN  STATES, 

I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK, 

AS    A   MARK   OF   THE 

HIGH  ESTEEM  IN  WHICH  I  HOLD  THE  NOBLE  WORK 
THE  AMERICAN  BAPTIST  MISSION  AND 
THE  AMERICAN  PRESBYTERIAN  MISSION 

ARE  ACCOMPLISHING 

IN  CIVILIZING  AND  CHRISTIANIZING 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  INDO-CHINA." 

An  old  book  entitled  Siam  and  Laos  as  Seen  by 
American  Missionaries  is  full  of  valuable  informa- 
tion, and  Miss  Fleeson's  Laos  Folk  Lore  pre- 
serves some  of  the  simple  stories  of  the  people. 

v 


VI  INTRODUCTION 

But  none  of  these  or  of  the  other  books  on  Siam, 
attempt  any  full  treatment  of  the  Laos  people  and 
religion  and  government. 

Mrs.  Curtis  is  well  qualified  to  write  a  book  to 
fill  this  vacant  place.  For  four  years  she  was  a 
missionary  at  Lakawn,  and  combined  with  excep- 
tional opportunities  a  quick  discernment  and  a 
kindly  interest  in  the  people.  Far  away  from  the 
currents  of  travel  and  intercourse,  the  Laos  states 
are  practically  unknown  save  to  the  lumber  mer- 
chant and  the  missionary.  And  of  the  two  it  is  the 
missionary  who  masters  the  language,  enters  into 
the  life  of  the  people  with  the  sympathy  which  is 
essential  to  knowledge,  traces  up  the  secret  of 
custom  or  idea  or  institution,  and  strives  to  under- 
stand the  hearts  and  minds  of  those  among  whom 
he  dwells.  As  in  almost  every  other  part  of  Asia 
and  in  Africa,  so  here  we  owe  our  first  and  often 
our  fullest  and  most  reliable  knowledge  of  the 
people  and  country  to  the  missionary. 

The  two  founders  of  the  Laos  Mission,  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary  and  Dr.  Wilson,  are  still  connected  with  the 
mission.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  day  their 
autobiographical  reminiscences  may  be  made  avail- 
able. The  only  difference  between  these  two  ven- 
erable missionaries — loved  throughout  the  Laos 
states  by  all,  rulers,  common  people,  and  merchants 
from  the  West — and  missionaries  like  Moffett  and 
Paton,  is  that  these  old  Laos  missionaries  are  un- 
known to  the  world.  In  character  and  accomplish- 
ment they  rank  with  the  missionary  saints  and 
apostles.  Mrs.  Curtis  has  done  a  good  service  in 


INTRODUCTION  Vll 

telling  as  much  as  she  has  here  told  of  their  life 
and  work. 

An  account  like  this  is  an  encouragement  to  faith. 
But  it  is  also  a  summons  to  duty.  The  work  for 
the  elevation  of  this  remote  people  has  but  begun. 
It  should  be  carried  forward  to  completion.  Into 
these  poor  lives  and  open  hearts  we  are  charged  to 
bring  that  gospel,  which  will  deliver  them  from 
their  fetiches  and  their  fears,  which  is  the  promise 
of  the  life  that  now  is  as  well  as  of  that  which  is 
to  come. 

ROBERT  E.  SPEER. 

New  York. 


Butbor's  Untro&uctton 


IN  this  day  of  travel  and  books  it  is  as  easy  a 
matter  to  feel  acquainted  with  our  antipodes  as  it 
is  with  our  next-door  neighbor.  So  enterprising 
have  tourists  to  the  East  been  that  they  have 
pushed  their  way  into  central  China,  across  Siberia, 
and  even  into  Tibet,  and  so  faithfully  have  they 
written  of  what  they  have  seen,  heard,  and  ob- 
served that  we,  sitting  in  our  easy-chair  at  home, 
can  all  but  believe  that  we,  too,  have  been  there. 
But  there  is  one  fair  land  that  is  yet  closed  to 
the  reading  world,  a  land  that  at  once  charms  and 
interests,  but  which  is  so  shut  in  by  its  mountain 
walls  and  distance  from  the  sea  that  it  is  practically 
inaccessible  to  the  tourist.  Readers  of  current 
missionary  literature  know  of  the  Laos  people,  as 
there  is  a  most  successful  mission  among  them;  and 
those  who  have  been  following  the  trend  of  eastern 
politics  of  the  past  few  years  know  that  Siam  has 
recently  lost  to  France  all  her  land  east  of  that 
noble  stream  of  waters,  the  Me  Kawng,  or  Cam- 
bodia, most  of  which  is  inhabited  by  the  Laos. 
Aside  from  this,  but  little  is  known  of  the  Laos, 
save  by  those  few  men  and  women  who  have  come 
into  direct  touch  with  them,  principally  as  mission- 
aries or  foresters.  A  few  men  have  entered  or 

ix 


crossed  their  country  in  an  official  capacity,  and  as 
a  result  we  have  from  the  gifted  pen  of  Colquhoun 
an  excellent  work,  Amongst  the  Shans,  and  from 
Mr.  Hallet  as  reliable  and  interesting  a  book,  A 
Thousand  Miles  on  an  Elephant.  But  these  books 
and  others  barely  touch  upon  the  Laos,  and 
nothing  but  a  mention  is  made  of  the  mission 
there. 

The  author  has  recently  spent  four  years  among 
this  people  as  a  missionary  under  the  Northern 
Presbyterian  Board,  not  only  living  in  the  larger 
cities  and  towns,  but  touring  among  the  remote 
villages,  living  in  close  touch  with  the  people,  and 
often  spending  days  and  nights  in  their  own  homes. 
Thus  she  feels  that  she  knows  them,  and  loving 
them  as  she  does  she  wishes  to  bring  them  before 
the  American  public,  that  they,  too,  may  become 
interested  in  them  and  may  have  their  hearts  stirred 
to  do  something  toward  sending  to  them  the  Word 
of  Life. 

It  is  the  writer's  purpose  to  give  concrete  facts 
and  incidents  which  will  be  illustrative  of  the  Laos 
people  as  a  whole.  It  is  a  difficult  task  to  speak 
of  a  foreign  people  and  not  to  do  so  from  a 
prejudiced  point  of  view,  especially  when  they  have 
so  many  moral  anomalies  and  contradictions  as  have 
the  Laos.  But  this,  too,  has  been  constantly  borne 
in  mind  by  the  writer. 

It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  acknowledge  my  indebt- 
edness to  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Dodd,  of  the  Laos  Mis- 
sion. Though  in  the  United  States  on  a  brief 
furlough,  he  has  taken  time  to  read  the  manuscript 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  xi 

of  this  book  and  to  give  me  many  valuable  sugges- 
tions. 

And  so  with  this  word  from  the  author  to  the 
reader,  we  will  turn  to  Laos-land  with  all  its 
witchery  of  tropical  splendor,  and  with  all  its  dark- 
ness of  demon  worship. 

LILLIAN  JOHNSON  CURTIS. 

Winnabow,  N.  C. 


Unfcer 

PAGE 

Introduction  by  Mr.  Robert  E.  Speer v 

Author's  Introduction ix 

CHAPTER  I 

THE   SHANS 

Reign  of  Pra-Ruang;  early  Shan  history;  principal 
branches  of  Shans;  original  home;  pushed  south- 
ward; gunpowder;  Ayuthia  founded;  the  term 
"Laos";  under  four  flags;  Laos  provinces;  tribu- 
tary to  Siam;  cruel  treatment  of  king;  government 
of  Laos  provinces;  Laos  Shans  superior i 

CHAPTER  II 

SIAM  AND  ITS  CAPITAL 

Kingdom  recently  delimited;  territory  governed  by 
Siam;  King  Chulalongkorn  I;  effect  of  union 
of  church  and  state;  palace  life;  visit  to  palace; 
Wat  Pra  Kian;  royal  white  elephants;  things  that 
bind  to  the  past;  location  of  Bangkok;  the  Me 
Nam;  river  scene;  trolley  line;  floating  houses; 
shopping  in  Bangkok;  owes  existence  to  trade; 
yet  not  traders 9 

CHAPTER  III 

SIX  WEEKS  IN  A   SIX-BY-SEVEN 

How  to  reach  Laos-land;  Laos  boats;  distance;  poling 
of  boats;  boat  life  and  crew;  journal;  leaving 
Bangkok;  first  night  out;  royal  procession; 
Czarewitch;  hot  weather;  first  Sabbath  out; 
thieves;  a  leper  witness;  follow  canal;  drinking 

xiii 


XIV  INDEX 

PAGE 

river  water;  language;  second  Sabbath;  unique 
church  service;  a  mountain  climb;  ruins;  glorious 
view;  fever;  nearing  Pak  Nam  Po;  value  of  mos- 
quito net 25 

CHAPTER  IV 

FROM    PAK    NAM    PO    TO    RAHENG 

At  Pak  Nam  Po;  in  the  Me  Ping;  a  pleasant  change; 
stop  at  wat;  sick  ones  better;  night  stop  at  sand 
bar;  third  Sabbath  out;  soft  sunsets;  Chinaman's 
boat  from  Chieng  Mai;  cooler  nights;  crew  fish 
daily;  a  narrow  escape  from  capsizing;  a  second 
danger;  in  a  village  below  Raheng;  spinning, 
broken  leg;  fourth  Sabbath  from  Bangkok;  de- 
scription of  Raheng ;  leaking  boats ;  mishap  to  boat ; 
party  divides 49 

CHAPTER  V 

THE   END   OF   THE   JOURNEY 

On  the  Me  Wang;  compared  with  Me  Ping;  fifth 
Sabbath  out;  fever;  in  a  village;  industrious  Laos 
family;  fever  worse;  in  the  mountains;  the  rapids; 
beautiful  scenery;  crew  and  morning  plunge;  in 
Laos-land  at  last;  river  very  low;  river  gardens; 
reed-blowing;  a  log  jam;  at  Lampang  Kang  with 
Christians;  nearing  Lakawn 63 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE   FACE    OF   LAOS-LAND 

Laos  roads;  physical  features;  the  climate;  seasons; 
the  damp;  lavish  nature;  rapids  of  Me  Nan; 
ferns  and  orchids;  vegetables;  curcuma;  palms 
and  their  uses;  bananas;  mangoes;  the  tamarind 
tree;  pineapples  and  other  fruits;  valuable  woods; 
teak;  upas;  gamboge;  lac  insect;  bamboo  and  its 
uses;  slaple  crops 74 


INDEX  XV 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE   FACE    OF    LAOS-LAND    (CONTINUED) 

PAGE 

Range  of  animal  life;  tigers  and  stories;  water  buffa- 
loes; leaf  insects;  chakims;  butterflies;  "white  ants" 
or  termites;  elephants;  white  elephants;  elephant 
characteristics;  camel-like;  mineral  wealth 90 

CHAPTER  VIII 
V'THE  HEART  OF  LAOS-LAND 

Marriage  as  a  foundation;  the  Laos  as  a  race; 
woman's  position;  not  due  to  Buddhism;  custom 
of  wooing  and  wedding;  divorce  laws;  property 
in  hands  of  women;  illustrations;  dress  of  men; 
hairless  skins;  dress  of  women;  black  teeth;  betel 
chew;  young  women  attractive;  change  in  dress; 
homes  of  the  Laos;  house-building;  furnishing  of 
houses;  kitchen;  food;  ha  a  delicacy;  a  table; 
cimex  lectularius;  free  from  both  cares  and  joys  of 
civilization 99 

CHAPTER  IX 

CHAUS  AND  SERFDOM 

Idea  of  greatness;  corvee  laws;  wealth  of  chaus; 
slaves;  chaus  refined,  but  self-seeking;  a  parasitical 
life;  illustrations;  story  of  Ai  Phat;  when  in 
public;  Prince  Damrong's  visit;  diplomatic  re- 
ceipt; bribery;  secret  of  state  of  stagnation 120 

CHA'PTER  X 

v  CHARACTERISTICS  AND  AMUSEMENTS 

The  voice;  markets;  force  of  custom;  lying;  idea  of 
heaven;  New  Year  festival;  Loy  Katong  holidays; 
end  of  Lent;  his  majesty's  birthday;  theaters; 
dancing  at  palace;  how  girls  are  obtained;  ba-taw; 
footfall  of  people;  deft  in  carving;  noted  for 
geniality J3I 


XVI  INDEX 

CHAPTER  XI 

LANGUAGE  AND  A  TRIO   OF  UNIQUE  CUSTOMS 

PAGE 

Grammatical  construction  of  language;  the  tones; 
consonants  and  vowels;  pronouns;  poetically  para- 
phrastic expressions;  choice  of  names;  prefixes 
for  males;  for  females;  tattooing;  methods  of  tat- 
tooing; burial  of  dead;  wailing  dead;  cremation; 
preparing  body;  the  catafalque;  services  at  crema- 
tion; cost;  smoldering  ashes 143 

CHAPTER  XII 

OCCUPATION   AND   INDUSTRIES 

No  corporations;  petty  trading;  Yunnun  and  Burmese 
traders;  silver  and  goldsmiths;  paper  manu- 
facture; lacquer  ware;  rice  cultivation;  sprouting 
beds;  transplanting;  irrigation;  harvest;  cattle 
trains;  portable  restaurants;  literature  and  art....  159 

CHAPTER  XIII 

CHILD  LIFE 

A  land  of  children;  treatment  at  birth;  care  of  mother; 
flat  heads;  games;  rhymes  and  jingles;  folk-lore 
stories;  cut  leaves  from  flower  stems;  education 
of  boys 169 

CHAPTER  XIV 

A  LOOK  AT  BUDDHISM 

A  Buddhist  nation;  Buddist  beatitudes;  extracts 
from  Dhamma-pada;  eightfold  sacred  formula;  in 
form;  in  nature;  meat-eating;  drinking;  no 
soul;  re-incarnation;  "incomprehensible  mystery"; 
merit;  "grapes  of  thorns";  a  selfish  religion 178 

CHAPTER  XV 

LAOS  WATS 

The  three  tenets  of  Buddhism  held;  wats  pleasing  to 
eye;  more  a  monastery  than  a  temple;  the  wihara; 


INDEX  XV11 

PAGE 

display  of  gold;  idols  and  shrines;  dormitories; 
wat  luangs;  libraries ;  drum  towers ;  prachedls; 
sand  festival;  footprints  of  Buddha;  wats  are  also 
inns;  a  dedication  of  an  idol;  merrymakings; 
fireworks;  wats  typical  of  heart  religion 193 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SHAVED  HEAD  AND  THE  YELLOW  ROBE 

Vows  not  for  life;  ceremony  of  receiving  into  order; 
to  full  ordination;  robes  of  monks;  the  color;  a 
monk's  possessions;  abbots  and  how  appointed; 
laws  and  rules  that  bind  monks;  nonobservance 
of  laws;  supposed  daily  routine  of  monks;  novi- 
tiate's duties;  exceptional  monks;  why  they  do  not 
influence  their  fellow-men 211 

CHAPTER  XVII 

SPIRIT-WORSHIP  AND  TREATMENT   OF   THE    SICK 

Why  Buddhism  was  adopted  by  Shans,  and  not  Chris- 
tianity; all  unusual  occurrences  accounted  for  as 
supernatural;  house  blown  down;  preparations  for 
a  journey;  spirit  charms;  ta  leo;  Chau  Chiwit  and 
charms;  drowning;  spirit  groves;  threatened 
.  famine;  Kwan;  origin  of  spirits;  magic;  cave  at 
Chieng  Dow;  amulets  and  omens;  two  kinds  of 
disease;  first  class  treated  by  doctors;  second 
class  by  spirit-doctors;  exorcism;  treatment  of 
witches;  awful  shadow  over  life 224 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  ORGANIZATION  AND  EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  MISSION 

The  Laos  have  a  knowledge  of  sin;  need  of  Christi- 
anity; mission  an  outgrowth  of  Siam  mission; 
Roman  Catholic  missions  in  Siam;  testimony 


XV  111  INDEX 

PAGE 

of  government  to  Protestant  missions;  Dr. 
Gutzlaff;  dark  days  for  Siam  mission;  Fah 
Mong  Kut  ascends  the  throne;  a  new  era  for 
Siam;  Ann  Hazeltine  Judson;  Messrs.  McGil- 
vary  and  Wilson  assigned  to  Siam;  points  of 
interest  in  their  lives;  John  Leighton  Wilson;  Dr. 
Lefevre;  Mrs.  Wilson's  death;  Dr.  McGilvary's 
marriage;  assigned  to  Petchaburee;  tour  into 
Laos;  1867,  Laos  mission  established  by  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary;  early  days  at  Chieng  Mai;  medical  work; 
coming  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson;  building  of 
bridge;  two  years  in  sala;  difficulties  and  en- 
couragements; foundations  laid 244 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION 

First  convert;  story  of  conversion;  death  of  His 
Majesty  Mong  Kut;  seven  converts;  sickness  and 
death;  first  persecution;  martyrdom;  heavy  cloud 
over  mission;  commissioner  sent  from  Bangkok; 
interview  with  king;  apparent  failure  of  mission; 
faith  of  missionaries;  God's  deliverance;  Dr. 
House's  visit;  effect  of  persecution 263 

CHAPTER  XX 

THE  SECOND  PERSECUTION  AND  EXPANSION 

First  medical  missionary;  tour  of  whole  country;  some 
conversions  of  1876;  second  persecution;  marriage 
of  Kam  Tip;  proclamation  of  religious  liberty; 
organization  of  Bethlehem  church;  Lakawn 
church;  story  of  first  member  there;  death  of  Nan 
Inta;  new  missionaries;  Lakawn  station  estab- 
lished; Me  Dork  Deng  church;  new  missionaries; 
year  of  grace;  church  at  Chieng  Sen;  Lampun; 
mission  moves  forward 281 


INDEX  XIX 

CHAPTER  XXI 

CHIENG    MAI.    THE    FAIR    CITY    OF    PALMS 

1  AGJl 

City  of  Palms;  Doi  Su  Tep;  tea  gardens;  points  of 
interest  about  Chieng  Mai;  mission  press;  its 
work;  medical  compound  and  immense  work 
there;  work  among  lepers;  prisoners;  mission 
work,  evangelistic  and  philanthropic;  parochial 
schools;  theological  and  training  schools;  Dr. 
McGilvary's  home;  work  among  the  Ka  Mus; 
"P.  H.  and  P.  A";  Chieng  Mai  church;  last  look 
at  city 292 

CHAPTER  XXII 

LAKAWN,    PRE,   NAN,   AND    CHIENG   RAI 

At  Lampun;  greatest  missionary  trial;  rest  at  Me  Ta; 
climb  over  the  mountains;  Lakawn;  industrial 
farm;  north  compound;  medical  work;  Dr. 
Wilson's  house;  the  church;  work  of  the  wives; 
famine;  visible  changes;  at  Pre;  one  man  for  a 
whole  year;  at  Nan;  encouraging  features;  at 
Chieng  Rai;  strategic  importance;  Musiis;  de- 
velopment of  Laos  church;  need  for  missionaries; 
Laos  days  of  isolation  past;  dangers;  obligations 
to  Presbyterian  Church 311 

APPENDIX 

Chart  of  Tai   Race 331 

List  of  Laos  missionaries 333 

The  Shan  uprising 336 


Xaos  of  IRortb  Slam 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  SHANS 

"Ix  was  in  the  one  thousandth  year  of  Buddha, 
A.  D.  457,  that  the  great  and  fearful  King  Ruang 
lived.  His  advent  and  the  glories  of  his  reign  had 
been  previously  announced  by  Gotama  himself. 
His  father  was  King  of  Haripunxai.  One  day  he 
retired  to  a  quiet  mountain  for  meditation  and  there 
met  the  Queen  of  the  Nakhae*,  whose  beauty  and 
charm  won  his  heart.  She  became  his  wife  and 
brought  forth  a  son  whom  she  placed  upon  the 
spot  where  she  had  first  met  the  king,  then  disap- 
peared, after  having  placed  upon  the  child's  finger 
a  ring  given  her  by  the  king.  Now  a  certain  hunts- 
man accidentally  discovered  the  child  with  the  royal 
ring,  and  brought  him  up.  The  youth  having  one 
day  entered  the  court  the  whole  palace  trembled; 
the  king  recognized  his  son,  and  acknowledged  him. 
In  time  he  became  king  under  the  name  Pra- 
Ruang.  He  threw  off  the  yoke  of  the  King  of 
Cambodia,  and  reduced  to  his  authority  all  the 
sovereigns  in  his  vicinity.  In  the  year  one  thou- 


*The  Nakhae  are  a  fabulous  race  dwelling  under  the 
earth. 

I 


2  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

sand  of  the  era,  Pra-Ruang  abolished  the  Buddhist 
era,  and  ordained  a  new  one;  which  is  the  era  of  the 
Siamese  and  is  called  Chulasakkarat,  the  lesser  era. 
Incensed  because  the  Emperor  of  China  would  not 
unite  with  the  other  kings  for  the  purpose  of 
abolishing  the  era,  Pra-Ruang,  having  embarked 
in  a  ship  with  his  brother,  reached  by  some  won- 
derful means  the  presence  of  the  Emperor  of  China, 
who  professed  himself  to  be  his  disciple  and  gave 
him  his  daughter  in  marriage.  Pra-Ruang  re- 
turned with  a  large  retinue  of  Chinese;  introduced 
the  characters  of  the  Siamese  language,  and  ap- 
pointed his  brother  King  of  Chieng  Mai.  In 
consequence  of  these  and  other  great  merits  he  was 
favored  with  the  possession  of  an  immense  white 
elephant  with  jet-black  tusks.  Proceeding  one  day 
to  the  river  the  king  disappeared;  it  was  thought 
that  he  had  rejoined  his  mother,  the  Queen  of  the 
Nakhae,  and  would  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life 
in  the  realms  beneath."* 

The  early  history  of  the  Shans  is  lost  in  the  mists 
of  antiquity  and  this  touch  of  color  from  the  pages 
of  their  chronicles,  now  kept  in  the  Royal  Library 
of  Bangkok,  reveals  how  hopelessly  interwoven  are 
the  facts  of  their  later  history  with  the  unreal,  so 
much  so  that  the  one  cannot  be  satisfactorily  dis- 
entangled from  the  other. 

To-day  the  Shans  are  settled  over  the  main  part 
of  Indo-China,  reaching  over  into  Burma  and  up 


*  See  Bowring's  translation  of  Bishop  Pallegoix's  Chro- 
nology. 


THE    SHANS  3 

into  China.  Though  English  writers  know  this 
people  as  Shans,  they  call  themselves  Tai — Free 
People.  There  are  two  principal  divisions  of  Shans, 
namely,  Western  Shans  and  Eastern  Shans.  The 
eastern  branch  includes  the  Siamese  and  the  Laos 
Shans.  It  is  among  the  Western  Shans  that  the 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  has  so  success- 
ful a  mission  and  into  whose  dialect  of  Shan  Dr. 
Gushing  has  translated  the  Bible.  The  Northern 
Presbyterian  Board  has  had  a  mission  among  the 
Siamese  Shans  for  nearly  sixty  years,  and  among 
the  Laos  Shans  for  over  half  that  time.  These 
three  principal  branches  of  Shans  have  much  in 
common,  especially  in  vocabulary,  characteristics, 
and  customs,  their  chief  difference  being  found  in 
their  written  dialects. 

Though  so  little  is  accurately  known  of  early 
Shan  history  there  are  a  few  facts  of  which  we  can 
be  sure.  We  have  such  authority  as  Professor 
Terrien  de  La  Couperie,  and  other  students  of 
ethnology,  for  affirming  that  originally  they  came 
from  China  and  are  of  old  Aryan  stock,  and  recent 
missionary  exploration  has  also  established  the 
fact  that  they  are  still  immigrating  annually  from 
Yunnan  Province,  China.  Certain  it  is,  though,  that 
they  are  not  of  the  same  race  as  the  Chinese,  and 
there  is  much  more  in  common  between  them  and 
other  branches  of  the  Indo-European  races  than 
between  them  and  the  Chinese.  Professor  La  Cou- 
perie proves  conclusively  that  this  Shan  people  was 
settled  within  the  great  valley  of  the  Yangtsi  at 
the  time  that  the  first  wave  of  Chinese  migration 


4  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

swept  over  the  northwest  corner  of  China.  It  is 
thought  that  this  event  was  simultaneous  with  the 
appearing  of  the  Aryans  upon  the  frontiers  of 
India,  which  date  is  usually  fixed  at  3000  B.  c.  In 
the  reign  of  Yaou,  2356  B.  c.,  we  find  that  the 
Chinese  have  crossed  to  the  south  of  the  Yangtsi, 
so  the  Shans  must  have  been  pushed  first  to  the 
southward  about  this  time.  We  can  think  of  them 
as  moving  farther  and  farther  southward,  ever  since 
the  time  that  Abraham  was  leading  his  pilgrim 
life  in  the  land  of  his  adoption.  From  this  time 
on  down  the  centuries  until  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before  Columbus  discovered  America, 
the  Shan  history  cannot  be  accurately  given.  There 
are,  however,  a  few  facts  about  those  early  days  of 
which  we  may  feel  sure,  namely,  that  the  Shan 
kingdoms  reached  great  power  and  splendor; 
walled  cities  were  built;  wise  laws  were  made;  Bud- 
dhist monasteries  were  reared,  and  kingdom  fought 
against  kingdom  with  immense  armies.  Guns  and 
gunpowder  are  mentioned  long  before  the  discovery 
of  the  latter  in  Europe.  The  same  year,  A.  D.  1584, 
there  is  mention  of  the  capture  of  Portuguese  ves- 
sels which  had  taken  part  with  the  Cambodians 
against  the  Siamese.*  However,  we  may  be  sure 
that  a  high  degree  of  civilization  was  never  reached, 
and  that  the  people  were  heartlessly  sacrificed  to 
the  whims  or  caprices  or  necessities  of  the  rulers. 
In  A.  D.  1350  the  old  capital  city  of  Ayuthia  was 
founded,  and  from  this  date  we  have  an  authentic 


*  See  Bowring's  Siam,  Vol.  I,  p.  54. 


THE    SHANS  5 

history  of  Siamese  Shans,  which  necessarily  em- 
braces more  or  less  of  Laos  Shan  history. 

The  Laos  Shans,  or  simply  the  Laos,  to-day 
number  between  five  and  eight  million  souls. 
There  is  absolutely  no  method  of  obtaining  a  cor- 
rect census  and  so  the  number  is  variously  esti- 
mated. The  figures  quoted  represent  the  limit  of 
both  extremes.  The  term  "Laos"  is  an  arbitrary  one, 
being  the  French  spelling  of  the  name  of  a  single 
tribe  of  Laos,  namely,  the  Lao  tribe.  But  the 
Siamese  call  all  the  Laos  in  their  kingdom  and  all 
in  French  territory  Lao.  And  so  for  want  of  a  bet- 
ter term,  the  Laos  Mission  voted  in  1897  to  "use  the 
name  'Laos'  for  all  who  use  the  written  character 
that  we  have  in  our  mission."  This  includes  not 
only  all  the  Tai  tribes  within  the  areas  mentioned 
in  the  following  paragraph,  but  also  the  non-Tai 
hill  tribes:  because  the  written  language  of  such  of 
them  as  have  a  written  language  at  all,  is  Laos. 
Thus  the  term  "Laos"  is  generic  and  includes  a 
large  number  of  branches  of  Shans  which  all  speak 
dialects  of  a  common  language  and  have  marked 
family  resemblances,  so  much  so  that  they  can  be 
classed  under  the  common  name,  Laos  Shans.  The 
mass  of  them  are  nominal  Buddhist,  but  a  few  of 
the  tribes  are  not.  Tattooing  is  not  common  to  all, 
and  the  men  of  a  few  of  the  tribes  wear  their  hair 
long.  The  dress  and  many  of  the  customs  vary; 
and  we  could  go  on  enumerating  differences,  which 
nevertheless  are  but  varying  traits  and  characteris- 
tics of  the  same  great  family  of  Laos  Shans.  There 
are  six  principal  branches  of  Tai  Laos  and  several 


O  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

Laos  hill  tribes.  These  will  be  found  classified  in 
a  chart  in  the  appendix  of  this  book.  The  language 
written  and  spoken  by  the  Yuan  Laos  is  recognized 
by  all  branches  as  the  ''Mandarin"  language  of  the 
Laos.  Some  of  the  hill  tribes  speak  dialects  of 
their  own,  but  many  of  the  men  of  the  tribes  and 
some  of  the  women  understand  the  Laos  vernacular. 
The  non-Tai  hill  people  are  thought  to  be  the  re- 
mains of  once  mighty  empires. 

The  Laos  are  living  under  four  flags.  On  the 
north  they  are  under  Chinese  rule,  on  the  west 
under  British,  on  the  east  and  southeast  under 
French  authority,  and  on  the  southwest  they  form 
a  part  of  the  Siamese  nation.  They  are  scattered 
over  the  immensely  rich  valleys  of  the  upper  courses 
of  the  Salwin,  Me  Ping,  and  Me  Kawng  rivers. 
From  two  to  four  millions  of  the  Laos — the  Yuan 
Laos — live  under  Siamese  rule:  and  to  this  branch 
of  the  family  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  hitherto 
confined  its  organized  work,  and  it  is  this  same 
branch  with  whom  this  book  deals.  This  people 
will  be  spoken  of  by  their  generic  name,  Laos,  as 
they  are  so  known  in  all  American  current  and  mis- 
sionary literature.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  the 
mission  includes  as  yet  only  a  small  part  of  the 
Laos. 

As  thus  restricted,  the  term  Laos  includes  the 
people  of  seven  principal  provinces,  namely,  Chieng 
Mai,  Lakawn,  Pre,  Nan,  Chieng  Rai,  and  Chieng 
Sen,  each  of  which  takes  its  name  from  its  capital 
city.  The  city  of  Chieng  Mai — marked  Zimme  on 
old  maps — is  now  the  largest  and  most  important, 


THE    SHANS  7 

though  the  youngest.  In  A.  D.  1293  when  Europe 
was  in  the  throes  of  the  dark  ages  it  was  destroyed 
by  the  West  Shans  of  Muang*  Mau.  A  few  years 
later  it  was  rebuilt  by  the  son  of  the  King  of 
Lakawn  and  upon  the  same  site.  The  Laos  have 
many  a  wonderful  tale  that  they  tell  their  children 
concerning  those  days,  especially  of  one  of  their 
kings  who  even  as  an  infant  showed  such  physical 
power  and  such  an  unruly  spirit  that  he  broke  every 
cradle  in  which  he  was  laid,  until  finally  an  iron  one 
was  made  which  withstood  him.  This  king  lived 
before  the  destruction  of  Chieng  Mai  by  the  West- 
ern Shans  of  Mung  Mau:  so  we  see  that  the  present 
custom  of  placing  babes  in  a  swinging  bamboo 
cradle  or  basket  is  one  of  very  ancient  date. 

In  the  seventies  of  the  eighteenth  century,  these 
states  became  tributary  to  Siam.  But  troubles 
arose  and  the  reigning  sovereign  of  Siam,  Chau 
Prasat  Tawng,  invaded  the  Laos  states,  laid  the 
country  waste,  plundered  the  villages,  and  brought 
away  many  thousand  captives  to  be  slaves  forever 
more.  The  king  of  the  Laos  escaped  into  Cochin 
China,  but  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  Siamese, 
arriving  in  Bangkok  about  the  close  of  the  year 
1828.  He  here  underwent  cruelties  of  which  it  is 
a  shame  even  to  speak.  We  will  quote  only  in  part: 

"He  was  confined  in  a  large  iron  cage,  exposed 
to  the  burning  sun,  and  obliged  to  proclaim  to 
every  one  that  the  King  of  Siam  was  great  and 

*  "Muang,"  or,  as  the  West  Shans  say,  "Mung,"  means 
province. 


8  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

merciful,  that  he  himself  had  committed  a  great 
error  and  deserved  his  present  punishment.  In  this 
cage  were  placed  with  the  prisoner  a  large  mortar 
to  pound  him  with,  a  larger  boiler  to  boil  him  in,  a 
hook  to  hang  by,  and  a  sword  to  decapitate  him: 
also  a  sharp-pointed  spike  for  him  to  sit  on.  His 
children  were  sometimes  put  in  along  with  him.  He 
was  a  mild,  respectable-looking,  old  gray-headed 
man,  and  did  not  live  long  to  gratify  his  tormentors. 
His  dead  body  was  refused  cremation  or  burial  and 
was  hung  in  chains  on  the  river  bank  below 
Bangkok."* 

Since  then  there  has  been  no  trouble  between  the 
provinces  and  the  capital,  and  gradually  Siam  has 
weaned  them  of  their  state  power  until  at  present 
every  province  has  a  Siamese  royal  commissioner 
appointed  directly  from  the  throne  in  Bangkok. 
He  is  not  only  responsible  for  good  government 
and  collection  of  taxes,  but  he  keeps  the  king  in 
touch  with  the  spirit  of  the  provinces. 

Though  the  Laos  and  Siamese  are  both  Shans 
and  have  much  in  common,  a  stranger  would  note 
at  once  many  marked  differences  in  natures,  habits, 
and  customs  of  these  two  peoples.  It  is  conceded 
by  all  that  in  morals,  and  refinements  of  life  as  well, 
the  Laos  are  superior. 


*  Bo  wring's  Siam,  Vol.  I,  p.  62. 


CHAPTER  II 

SIAM  AND  ITS  CAPITAL 

To  know  and  understand  the  Laos  it  is  necessary 
to  be  familiar  with  Siam  as  a  whole.  So  many  ex- 
cellent books  have  been  written  recently  on  Bang- 
kok or  Siam  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  spend  much 
time  upon  the  subject.  We  will  only  touch  upon  it 
sufficiently  to  enable  us  to  understand  the  Laos 
people. 

The  kingdom  of  Siam,  including  necessarily  its 
provinces,  has  suffered  much  within  the  last  few 
years  by  loss  of  territory.  Its  boundary  toward 
Burma  was  somewhat  contracted  in  1891  by  a 
commission;  and  the  famous  treaty  of  1893  granted 
to  France  all  Siamese  territory  east  of  the  Me 
Kawngj  and  on  a  twenty-five  kilometre  strip  on  the 
west  of  the  river,  France  feels  at  liberty  to  erect 
stations,  although  the  treaty  provides  that  this  strip 
shall  be  a  neutral  zone.  Much  is  involved  in  these 
simple  statements,  for  politically  Indo-China  is  in  an 
unsettled  state  and  is  full  of  very  "ticklish"  prob- 
lems. 

France  has  appropriated  in  all  three  hundred 
thousand  square  miles  of  Indo-China,  while  Siam 
now  claims  but  two  hundred  thousand.  By  the 
agreement  of  January,  1896,  between  England  and 
France,  they  guaranteed  to  Siam  the  integrity  of 
territory  embraced  in  the  basins  of  the  Me  Nam, 

9 


10  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

and  Me  Klong,  Pechaburi,  and  Bangpakong  rivers, 
together  with  the  coast  from  Miiang  Bang  Tepan 
to  Miiang  Pase,  including  also  the  territory  lying 
to  the  north  of  the  Me  Nam  basin,  between  the 
Anglo-Siamese  border,  the  Me  Kawng  River,  and 
the  eastern  watershed  of  the  Me  Ing.*  This 
amounts  to  territory  about  the  size  of  Germany, 
with  a  population  of  some  ten  millions  or  more. 

The  ruler  of  this  realm  is  by  name,  Prabat  Som- 
detch,  P'ra  Paramendr,  Maha  Chulalongkorn,  Bau- 
dintaratape,  Mahar  Monkoot,  Rartenah  Rarchawe- 
wongse  Racher  Nekaradome  Chatarantah  Baromah 
Mahar  Chakrapart,  P'ra  Chula  Chaumklow,  Chau 
yu  huah,  but  he  is  called  by  foreigners  simply  King 
Chulalongkorn  I.  In  appearance  he  is  handsome, 
and  bears  himself  with  genuine  kingly  dignity.  He 
has  a  magnetic  charm  of  manner  that  has  won  for 
him  the  personal  devotion  of  everyone  with  whom 
he  comes  in  touch.  He  is  a  well-read  and  well- 
traveled  man,  his  last  extensive  tour  having  em- 
braced the  greater  countries  of  Europe.  He  reads 
English  with  ease  and  speaks  it  fluently,  though  it 
is  etiquette  that  all  the  court  language  should  be  in 
Siamese.  This  fact  often  misleads  a  foreign  visitor: 
for  King  Chulalongkorn,  like  all  orientals  has  a 
marvelous  command  of  his  features,  including  even 
the  play  of  the  light  in  his  eye;  and  under  the  most 
trying  and  extraordinary  circumstances  can  keep 
his  countenance  as  imperturbable  as  rock.  Thus  a 
visitor  would  never  have  the  slightest  hint  from 


*  See  the  Statesman's  Year-Book,  1900,  p.  1014. 


SIAM    AND     ITS     CAPITAL  II 

the  expression  of  his  majesty's  face  that  his  words 
are  understood  until  they  are  rendered  again  in 
the  vernacular  by  the  palace  dragoman. 

It  is  difficult  to  convey  to  a  democratic  people  the 
degree  in  which  the  king  is  the  head  of  the  state. 
According  to  Henry  Norman  he  can  say  with  literal 
truth,  L'etat,  c'est  moi.  To  quote  further: — 

"To  every  Siamese  the  king  is  not  alone  the  ruler 
of  the  land,  but  the  actual  possessor  of  it, — of  its 
soil,  of  its  people,  of  its  revenues.  Omniscience, 
omnipotence,  and  absolute  Tightness  are  the  in- 
herent attributes  of  the  king.  To  illustrate  this, 
here  is  a  perfectly  true  story.  A  Siamese  prince  re- 
ceived from  London  a  packet  of  Christmas  cards, 
one  of  which  bore  the  text,  'Glory  to  God  in  the 
Highest!'  Without  in  the  least  understanding  the 
sacredness  of  these  words  to  Christian  ears,  and 
without  the  remotest  intention  of  irreverence,  he 
erased  the  word  'God'  and  substituted  the  word 
'King,'  and  sent  it  to  the  palace.  He  had  simply 
been  struck  with  the  peculiar  appositeness  of  the 
expression,  and  the  card  gave  the  liveliest  satisfac- 
tion in  royal  circles."* 

This  ultra  veneration  for  his  majesty  comes 
largely  from  the  unity  of  church  and  state.  They 
are  absolutely  one.  The  king  is  crowned  with  the 
most  impressive  religious  services  and  thereby  be- 
comes Pra  Chau.  By  this  coronation  there  gathers 
about  his  majesty  the  sacredness  of  a  god. 


*  The  Peoples  and  Politics  of  the  Far  East,  Henry  Nor- 
man, p.  434. 


12  THE     LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

There  is  around  palace  life  in  Siam  as  much 
splendor  and  picturesqueness  as  we  read  of  in  the 
Arabian  Nights.  This  book,  by  the  way,  is  much 
liked  by  his  majesty,  and  was  translated  by  him 
for  his  merry  group  of  children  before  they  wrere 
old  enough  to  read  it  in  the  English.  The  palace 
itself,  with  "its  graceful  pointed  spires  of  the  grand 
halls  of  audience;  and  the  gleaming  tiles  of  the 
golden  pagoda,  and  the  many-colored  roofs  of  the 
Royal  Temple,  give  a  richer  effect  than  anything  to 
be  found  east  of  Calcutta."*  It  is  a  city  in  itself, 
surrounded  by  strong,  thick  walls,  with  gates 
guarded  by  day  and  night.  Within  these  walls  are 
found  all  the  various  offices  of  the  government  de- 
partments. Beyond  them,  and  hid  completely  from 
view  by  the  imposing  towers  of  the  audience  halls 
and  other  buildings,  lies  the  portion  of  the  palace 
where  dwells  his  majesty.  Here  is  located  the  im- 
mense harem  into  which  goes  every  pretty  girl  that 
appeals  to  his  majesty's  fancy,  or  who  is  sent  to  him 
as  a  present  by  some  aspiring  subject. 

The  day  I  first  visited  the  palace  was  evidently 
an  "off  day."  Sleepy' guards  lounged  around  the 
gates,  sitting  either  on  empty  coal-oil  tins  or  on 
chairs  which  had  to  be  placed  against  the  wall  for 
support.  Their  long  trousers  and  bare,  dusty  feet 
gave  them  an  exceedingly  slovenly  look.  We  were 
allowed  to  enter,  after  we  had  given  a  tip  to  the 
guard,  and  for  several  hours  roamed  around  in  the 
outer  buildings  that  are  nearly  always  accessible  to 


*  People  and  Politics  of  the  Far  East,  Norman,  p.  412. 


SIAM     AND     ITS     CAPITAL  13 

sightseers.  We  were  told  by  our  cicerone,  an  old 
foreign  resident  of  Bangkok,  that  whenever  some 
visitor  of  note  was  expected,  or  the  day  was  a  fes- 
tive one,  then  presto!  The  guards  became  erect 
and  smart  looking,  and  everywhere  would  appear  a 
hurry  and  skurry  of  coolies,  which  in  a  twinkling 
would  transform  the  place  into  a  fairyland  of  out- 
ward splendor  and  beauty,  rich  in  color,  imposing 
in  architectural  effect,  and  dazzling  in  the  gold  and 
jewels  of  princes  and  nobles.  But  we  had  to  con- 
tent ourselves  with  Siamese  royalty  in  repose,  which 
allows  dust  to  accumulate,  cobwebs  to  form,  lamps 
to  burn  into  the  day  hours,  until  they  go  out  for 
lack  of  oil,  and  a  general  look  of  disorder  and  stag- 
nation to  appear  on  every  side. 

We  first  wandered  into  that  most  noted  of  all 
Siamese  shrines,  Wat  Pra  Kian,  wherein  is  found 
the  Emerald  Idol.  This  wat  is  also  famous  as 
being  the  king's  own  place  of  worship,  and  because 
it  is  here  that  occur  the  great  Siamese  ceremonies 
of  state,  such  as  drinking  the  water  and  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance.  The  wat  courtyard  is  paved 
with  slabs  of  white  stone  and  marble,  and  from 
about  the  center  of  it  rises  a  prachadee,  or  pagoda, 
which  towers  high  above  all  surrounding  shrines 
and  sacred  buildings,  a  mass  of  resplendent  gold. 
From  the  archway  where  we  entered  it  was  glori- 
ously beautiful  and  graceful,  the  many  white  spires 
around  and  the  brilliant-tiled  roofs  forming  a  pic- 
turesque setting.  But  as  we  neared  I  was  disap- 
pointed that  in  detail  the  work  was  poor,  and  in 
places  the  gold  tiles  or  slabs  were  broken  and 


14  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH    SIAM 

nicked.  In  the  crevices  spiders  were  peacefully 
spinning.  The  wat  proper,  or  wihara,  is  to  one 
side  of  the  court,  and  is  imposing  in  architectural 
effect.  The  windows  and  doors  are  deeply  set  and 
appear  heavy  as  they  swing  slowly  upon  their  gilded 
hinges.  The  material  appears  to  be  ebony,  but  is 
in  fact  black  lacquer,  exquisitely  traced  in  mother- 
of-pearl.  At  the  far  end  of  the  oblong  building, 
arose  the  various  gold  idols  of  Buddha,  arranged  in 
a  pyramid  form.  Above  these  idols,  away  up  in  the 
shadows  of  the  roof,  rested  the  idol  which  is  claimed 
to  be  hewn  from  emerald.  It  dropped  from  heaven, 
so  the  story  goes,  in  one  of  the  Laos  states,  and  was 
brought  from  there  and  placed  in  this  royal  temple. 
Its  eyes  are  made  of  diamonds,  and  in  the  center  of 
its  forehead  is  a  third  diamond,  at  least  this  is  the 
claim,  but  occidental  eyes  cannot  vouch  for  its 
being  true;  and  even  the  tourist's  spyglass  fails  to 
reveal  the  glories  attributed  to  the  idol.  About  the 
base  of  the  pyramid  are  to  be  seen  the  gold  and  sil- 
ver trees  which  used  to  be  sent  down  by  the  old 
Laos  kings  as  tribute;  also  exquisite  wax-work, 
made  by  the  ladies  of  the  palace.  Back  of  the  altar 
there  were  several  museum  cases  filled  with  jewels, 
the  majority  poorly  cut  and  so  covered  with  dust 
that  we  could  not  discern  their  beauty.  The  walls 
and  ceiling  were  painted  in  a  bold  manner,  with 
scenes  from  the  life  of  Buddha  and  Hindu  myths, 
and,  as  in  all  Siamese  art,  perspective  was  entirely 
lacking.  The  general  effect,  however,  was  rich. 
This  Wat  Pra  Kian  is  situated  so  as  to  be  easily 
accessible  to  the  ladies  of  the  royal  harem,  and  it 


SIAM    AND     ITS     CAPITAL  15 

is  here  that  his  majesty  makes  his  offerings  of 
flowers  and  waxen  tapers  and  performs  his  daily 
devotions. 

Next  we  went  with  feelings  akin  to  awe  to  see 
the  royal  white  elephants,  of  which  we  had  heard 
and  read  so  much.  But,  alas!  to  our  utter  amaze- 
ment we  found,  instead  of  marble  floors  and  ivory 
pedestals  and  gold  trappings  and  handsome  grooms, 
a  stable  which  would  really  have  shamed  the  mule 
of  a  down-South  darkie.  But  our  cicerone  re- 
minded us  that  this  was  not  a  gala  nor  sacred  day. 
Had  it  been,  we  should  have  seen  these  most  royal 
elephants  dazzling  in  splendor  and  swaying  their 
trunks  graciously  towards  the  multitudes  of  kneel- 
ing worshipers. 

But  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  speak  at 
length  of  Bangkok  or  we  would  never  reach  Laos- 
land.  We  must  hasten  northward;  first,  however, 
there  are  a  few  more  words  that  must  be  said  about 
this  walled  palace.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
recently  appointed  cabinet  has  accomplished  so  lit- 
tle? and,  excepting  the  office  of  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  which  is  filled  by  his  excellency,  Prince 
Damrong,  is  but  a  paper  cabinet?  Is  it  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  his  majesty,  who  was  so  full  of  prom- 
ise, has  disappointed,  in  many  respects,  his  Euro- 
pean and  American  friends  by  his  failure  to  insist 
firmly  upon  progress  and  good  government?  Are 
these  things  to  be  wondered  at  when  within  the 
palace  walls  stand  towering  wats  of  Buddhism 
binding  with  unbroken  chains  the  present  to  the 
past,  and  within  the  very  center  of  these  grounds, 


l6  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

where  his  majesty  is  known  to  spend  the  greater 
part  of  his  time,  is  a  harem,  rich  in  beautiful  young 
women,  with  halls  and  courts  cooled  by  sparkling 
fountains,  dazzling  in  silver  and  gold  and  gems, 
and  fair  with  palms  and  flowers  and  silken  couches, 
with  ease  and  self-indulgence  everywhere?  Is  it 
to  be  wondered  at?  No;  and  what  has  been  ac- 
complished is  simply  marvelous  when  balanced 
against  such  fearful  odds. 

Bangkok  is  some  thirty  miles  from  the  coast  as 
the  river  winds,  but  only  about  half  that  distance  as 
the  crow  flies.  It  is  situated  upon  the  Me  Nam, 
sometimes  called  Me  Nam  Chau  Paya.  As  there 
is  much  contradiction  as  to  the  correctness  of  the 
name  Me  Nam,  a  special  word  of  explanation  will 
here  be  in  place.  The  late  king  wrote  for  the  Bang- 
kok Calendar  as  follows: — 

"The  word  Me  Nam  in  Siamese  is  a  generic  name 
for  river,  and  one  of  the  names  of  the  Bangkok 
River.  But  as  the  Siamese  call  all  rivers  Me  Nam, 
and  the  word  is  used  by  them  in  the  same  manner 
as  'river'  in  English  and  Nudi  in  Hindustani  and 
Pali,  it  is  wrong  for  Americans  and  some  other 
nations  to  call  the  Bangkok  simply  'Me  Nam/  for  it 
has  a  specific  name,  same  as  the  Amazon,  Ganges, 
and  so  forth.  It  is  the  custom  of  the  Siamese  to 
call  the  stream  nearest  to  them  Me  Nam,  and  add 
the  name  of  one  of  the  principal  towns  or  villages 
on  its  bank  to  it,  as  Me  Nam  Bangkok,  Me  Nam 
Kung,  Me  Nam  Ta  Chin,  etc.  The  true  name  of 
the  Bangkok  River  is  Me  Nam  Chau  Paya,  but  it 
has  become  obsolete." 


SIAM    AND     ITS     CAPITAL  17 

The  last  clause  is  significant,  and  the  river  is 
now  so  well  known  as  Me  Nam  that  usage  must  be 
accepted  as  authority.  To  the  Siamese  there 
gathers  about  this  noble  stream  a  sweet  sacredness, 
for  to  them  it  is  a  life-giver,  a  life-sustainer  of  the 
land,  being  in  reality,  not  in  sentiment,  to  the  coun- 
try what  the  Nile  is  to  Egypt  and  the  Ganges  to 
India. 

If  you  come  to  Bangkok  by  way  of  Singapore  or 
Shanghai  or  Hong  Kong  the  first  view  is  disap- 
pointing. It  does  not  stir  the  heart  with  rapture 
as  does  Singapore  with  its  exquisite  setting  of  ever- 
green hills  and  its  tranquil  bay  reflecting  back  the 
beauties  of  earth  and  sky;  neither  is  the  scene  im- 
posing, as  is  the  river  front  of  Shanghai;  neither 
do  you  see  an  immense  city  reaching  afar  up  upon 
the  hills  at  the  back  as  in  Hong  Kong,  for  Bangkok 
is  built  upon  a  dead  level,  and  there  is  little  to  be 
seen  from  your  steamer  deck,  save  a  towering  wat 
spire  here  and  there,  and  the  dazzling  towers  of  the 
Halls  of  Audience.  The  homes  of  the  one-half 
million  souls  of  Bangkok  are  found  principally 
beneath  a  canopy  of  green  trees,  among  which  the 
palm  and  palmetto  are  conspicuous  for  their  great 
height. 

The  river  scene  is  as  busy  a  one  as  can  be  found 
anywhere  the  world  around.  Upon  the  bosom  of 
the  wide  stream  can  be  seen  every  kind  of  a  boat 
from  the  tiny  cockle-shell  canoe  to  the  large  steam- 
ers from  Singapore  and  Hong  Kong.  There  are 
steamers  from  England  unloading  iron,  wrought 
and  unwrought,  machinery,  cotton  goods,  hard- 


l8  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

ware,  cutlery,  and  kerosene.  There  are  other 
steamers  loading  with  rice,  teak,  pepper,  and  cattle. 
Chinese  junks,  used  much  as  transports  for  carry- 
ing down  rice  and  hewn  teak  across  the  bar  for 
the  larger  steamers,  are  conspicuous  for  their  num- 
ber as  well  as  for  their  gesticulating  crews;  gondola- 
like  boats,  propelled  by  women  or  men,  are  coming 
and  going  on  business  or  pleasure,  and  always  with 
ease  and  grace;  Chinese  boats  are  bobbing  about 
with  their  ever-present  eyes  looking  comically  out 
from  the  prow,  for,  according  to  Chinese  belief,  a 
boat  "No  have  got  eye;  no  can  see;  no  can  go." 
Women  and  children  in  dugouts  are  paddling  fear- 
lessly in  the  wake  of  steamers,  trying  to  sell  their 
load  of  fruit  and  sweetmeats;  saucy,  noisy  steam 
launches  are  here,  there,  everywhere,  tearing  up 
and  down  the  river  like  mad;  and  altogether  the 
scene  is  as  busy,  as  restless,  as  mottled,  as  industri- 
ous, as  persistent,  as  is  street  life  on  down-town 
Broadway.  Nor  is  all  this  bustle  confined  to  the 
Me  Nam,  for  the  city  is  intersected  by  creeks  and 
numberless  canals,  which  are  the  real  highways  of 
the  place.  Every  house  has  a  boat  of  some  kind, 
according  to  the  financial  standing  of  the  owner, 
and  so  the  canals  are  pulsing  with  life,  especially 
during  the  hours  of  high  water.* 

This  eastern  Venice  is  built  chiefly  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Me  Nam.  Its  main  road  runs  for  about 
six  miles,  the  bridges  over  canals  and  creeks  being 
high  enough  not  to  interfere  with  water  traffic. 


*The  tide  rises  some  six  or  seven  feet. 


SIAM    AND     ITS     CAPITAL  IQ 

There  are  also  other  good  streets,  especially  about 
the  palace  walls.  However,  we  must  admit  that 
they  are  due  not  to  Siamese  industry,  but  to  the 
fact  that  for  the  last  ten  years  his  majesty  has  had 
many  Europeans  in  his  public  works  depart- 
ment. The  Bangkok  Directory,  for  1897,  contained 
some  two  hundred  names  of  foreigners  under 
Siamese  employ,  and  the  number  is  yearly  increas- 
ing. 

Along  the  full  length  of  this  main  road  runs  an 
electric  trolley  line,  whose  cars  are  always  crowded, 
and  which  annually  turns  into  its  shareholders  a 
dividend  of  thirty-four  per  cent.  I  have  never  felt 
so  much  like  a  sardine  in  a  box  as  when  upon  one 
of  these  cars,  but  the  most  annoying  part  of  the 
ride  is  that  the  fare  has  to  be  paid  in  immense 
copper  coins,  which  are  heavy  and  cumbersome,  and 
are  really  filthy  to  the  touch.  Or  if  you  per- 
chance give  a  small  silver  coin  you  will  receive  in 
change  from  the  conductor  a  handful  of  the  above- 
mentioned  pies.  This  road  was  originally  a  horse- 
car  line,  and  was  changed  in  1892  into  an  electric 
trolley,  the  fortunate  concessionary  being  a  Dane, 
M.  de  Richelieu  by  name.  Immediately  following 
the  change  the  natives  would  not  ride  upon  the 
cars,  but  in  superstitious  dread,  born  of  an  unscien- 
tific mind,  they  would  hug  the  walls  or  fences  as  the 
cars  whizzed  by,  muttering  to  themselves:  "It  is 
the  devil's  carriage;  it  is  the  devil's  carriage!"  But 
love  of  ease  is  the  most  evident  characteristic  of  a 
Siamese,  and  so  before  many  more  suns  had  boiled 
down  upon  him  as  he  trudged  along,  he  yielded 


2O  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

fear  to  convenience,  and  thence  became  a  constant 
patron  of  the  trolley. 

Since  1894  the  palace  has  been  illuminated  by 
electricity,  and  lately  a  Siam  Electricity  Company 
has  been  formed,  and  is  doing  a  good  business, 
paying  a  semi-annual  dividend  of  four  per  cent 
on  ten  thousand  lamps,  with  a  capacity  for  several 
thousand  more.  Telephones  and  other  modern  in- 
ventions prove  that  Bangkok  is  trying  to  follow 
the  lead  of  western  nations,  while  more  than  three 
thousand  bicycles  spinning  about  the  city  give  evi- 
dence of  the  same.  The  king  himself  owns  a  wheel, 
and  Prince  Damrong  is  president  of  a  club  of  sev- 
eral hundred  members.  Free  public  schools  are 
found  about  the  city,  and  in  fact  are  established  now 
in  centers  throughout  the  kingdom.  In  1899  a 
royal  decree  was  issued,  making  Sunday  a  legal 
holiday,  so  nominally  all  government  business  is 
suspended  on  that  day. 

These  signs  of  progress  give  promise  of  great 
things  for  Siam.  Yet  the  stranger  is  apt  to  attach 
too  much  importance  to  them.  With  all  due  ap- 
preciation of  their  worth,  the  fact  remains  that  they 
are  only  upon  the  surface.  The  foundation  re- 
mains as  when  the  doors  of  Siam  were  closed  to 
the  world,  for  the  mass  of  the  population  is  un- 
touched by  them. 

The  palace,  legations,  and  principal  residences 
and  business  houses  have  their  fronts  upon  the 
Me  Nam,  and  also  an  entrance  upon  the  main 
street  in  the  rear.  Our  United  States  legation  is 
pleasantly  located,  but  an  American  notes  with  in- 


SIAM    AND     ITS     CAPITAL  21 

jured  pride  that  the  grounds  and  building  cannot 
compare  with  those  of  many  of  the  European  lega- 
tions and  consulates.  The  buildings  of  our  Pres- 
byterian Mission  are  centered  about  four  different 
localities,  two  of  them  being  upon  the  left  river 
bank.  The  Press  and  Christian  high  school  are 
on  the  east  side,  admirably  situated. 

The  most  unique  feature  of  Bangkok  is  its  house 
boats,  real  houses  floating  about,  buoyed  up  on  a 
raft  of  bamboo  poles.  Thousands  of  these  floating 
houses  are  in  Bangkok,  and  in  many  respects  they 
represent  the  happiest  phase  of  life  among  the 
plebeians.  They  are  entirely  safe,  as  their  moor- 
ings hold  them  in  place;  and  they  are  more  healthful 
than  the  land  houses,  for  the  current  bears  away 
all  refuse  and  makes  better  sanitation  than  is  pos- 
sible ashore.  There  is  no  need  to  feel  concern  for 
the  children,  as  they  no  more  fall  into  the  water 
than  do  our  American  children  walk  into  the  fire. 
Usually  there  are  three  or  four  generations  living 
in  one  house. 

These  house  boats,  or  floating  houses,  line  the 
banks  of  the  river  on  both  sides,  leaving  free  only 
the  landing  places  of  residences  or  business  houses. 
Up  and  down  the  banks  they  extend  for  many  miles 
above  Bangkok,  rising  and  falling  with  the  tides,  in 
the  rainy  season  making  fast  their  moorings  because 
of  the  strong  downward  current,  and  in  the  other 
season  being  content  to  lie  stranded  on  the  dry 
river  bed  if  necessary,  because  of  the  narrow  con- 
fines of  the  river.  A  very  delightful  feature  of  this 
floating-house  life  is  the  ease  with  which  a  family 


22  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

can  move.  Many  families  pole  their  houses  up  to 
the  rice  plains  during  the  planting  and  harvesting 
seasons,  and  during  the  other  months  spend  their 
time  in  the  city  suburbs,  converting  the  front  room 
into  a  shop  for  selling  their  wares. 

To  illustrate  more  fully  the  water  life  of  Bang- 
kok, I  will  give  an  experience  in  the  summer  of 
1895.  We  found  to  our  dismay  upon  reaching  the 
city  that  our  boxes  containing  Bedding,  camp 
chair,  camp  table,  dining  outfit,  tinned  goods,  and 
other  things  indispensable  for  the  river  trip  before 
us,  had  been  delayed  and  might  arrive  next  week, 
next  month,  next  year,  or  not  at  all.  There  was 
but  one  thing  to  do,  buy  more;  for  the  Laos 
flotilla  of  boats  had  arrived,  and  all  the  party  but 
my  husband  and  myself  were  in  readiness  for  the 
journey.  Through  the  courtesy  and  kindness  of 
Dr.  T.  H.  Hayes  a  steam  launch  was  put  at  our  dis- 
posal, and  we  started  forth  immediately  after  break- 
fast to  purchase  a  second  supply  of  goods.  Our 
little  launch,  as  it  tore  along,  left  behind  a  swell  that 
tossed  the  children  in  their  cockle-shell  canoes,  as 
well  as  the  old  people  in  theirs,  making  the  former 
scream  with  delight  and  the  latter  shower  upon  us 
curses  and  uncomplimentary  ejaculations.  We 
spent  the  day  shopping,  and  bought  everything 
needed  from  a  can  opener  and  matches  up  to  a 
mosquito  netting,  and  yet  we  went  everywhere  in 
our  launch,  alighting  only  at  the  landings  of  the 
larger  stores.  At  the  small  stores,  which  were 
usually  floating,  the  launch  would  pull  up  along- 
side; and  immediately  before  us,  spread  out  on  the 


SIAM    AND    ITS     CAPITAL  23 

floor  and  shelves,  could  be  seen  the  whole  stock  of 
goods  and  ware.  The  experience  would  have  been 
very  delightful  had  there  been  one  price  upon  the 
goods,  but  true  to  oriental  business  principles, — or 
lack  of  principles — the  first  named  price  we  knew 
to  be  exorbitant,  and  served  only  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  a  long  series  of  offers  by  the  salesman,  to 
which  must  be  lent  a  deaf  ear  until  a  reasonable 
sum  is  reached,  reasonable  for  Bangkok,  I  should 
add. 

It  is  to  trade  that  Bangkok  owes  its  existence 
and  Siam  its  place  among  the  nations.  Yet, 
strange  to  say,  the  Siamese  are  not  the  traders,  but 
pushing,  energetic  foreigners  from  the  West  and 
Chinese  from  the  Celestial  empire.  If  there  be  one 
word  a  Siamese  detests  above  another  it  is 
"routine."  He  can  hustle  when  preparing  for  some 
festivity,  and  make  a  great  show  of  energy  and  en- 
terprise, but  when  the  occasion  is  passed,  he  must 
lie  down  in  the  shade  and  recuperate.  If  he  wishes 
to  engage  in  any  undertaking  of  whatsoever  nature 
it  may  be,  he  must  first  discover  by  means  of  sooth- 
sayers or  astrologers  which  will  be  the  auspicious 
day.  All  this  takes  time  and  causes  delay,  which 
exasperates  an  occidental  beyond  endurance.  A 
Siamese  merchant  must  never  be  tied  to  his  busi- 
ness, but  be  free  to  close  his  shop  when  he  pleases,, 
and  go  to  a  merit-making  season  at  some  wat  for  a 
day,  a  week,  or  more,  as  he  likes.  But  there  is  an- 
other reason  stronger  than  either  of  these  which 
has  made  it  difficult  for  Siamese  to  become  traders, 
namely,  the  laws  of  corvee,  or  a  system  of  forced 


24  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH    SIAM 

labor  from  one  to  three  months  of  each  year.  This, 
when  combined  with  the  indulgence  of  Mother  Na- 
ture, who  gives  to  her  children  of  this  land  a  living 
for  the  mere  asking,  makes  it  difficult,  probably  im- 
possible, for  Siam  to  become  a  business  nation. 
The  conditions  must  first  be  changed.  Of  this 
corvee  and  serfdom  we  will  speak  fully  in  a  following 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  III 

SIX  WEEKS  IN  A  SIX-BY-SEVEN 

THERE  is  but  one  way  of  reaching  the  land  of  the 
Laos,  unless,  indeed,  you  may  wish  to  go  to  Burma 
and  take  the  tedious  and  expensive  overland  trip 
either  by  pony  or  elephant.  If  you  follow  in  the 
footsteps  of  those  who  have  gone  before,  you  will 
go  to  Bangkok  and  there  take  passage  in  one  of  the 
unique  Laos  boats  that  come  down  to  trade  each 
year  on  the  high  water. 

The  upper  reaches  of  the  river  are  exceedingly 
dangerous,  as  many  rapids  and  narrow  rocky 
gorges  are  found  in  the  mountain-passes.  These 
Laos  boats  are  built  with  an  eye  to  those  places, 
and  can  ascend  them  with  comparative  safety  when 
manned  by  their  skilled  Laos  crews.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  know  that  the  original  model  for  these 
boats  was  a  fish.  The  Laos,  wishing  a  boat  larger 
than  their  canoes  and  dugouts,  studied  what  charts 
they  had  in  their  school  of  nature,  and  decided  that 
a  fish  should  be  their  model.  They  certainly  suc- 
ceeded in  evolving  a  boat  admirably  suited  for  their 
needs,  and  graceful  as  a  swan  when  seen  moving 
upon  the  bosom  of  a  broad  stream.  The  Laos  con- 
sider these  boats  the  most  perfect  of  their  architec- 
tural creations,  and  especially  do  they  esteem  the 
uplifted  tail,  both  for  its  grace  and  imposing  ap- 
pearance. 

25 


26  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

The  tiny  cabin  in  the  rear  is  usually  about  eight 
by  nine  feet,  and  occupies  all  the  space  in  these 
boats  available  for  a  cabin.  No  matter  how  much 
one  may  wish  to  travel  in  ease  and  comfort,  no  mat- 
ter how  much  money  he  may  have  at  his  disposal, 
he  must  adopt  this  primitive,  simple  mode  of  travel 
if  Laos-land  be  his  destination.  In  but  one  way 
can  he  make  the  trip  more  suited  to  his  taste,  and 
that  is  in  the  matter  of  time.  By  hiring  a  steam 
launch  to  tow  the  boat  to  Pak  Nam  Po  and  from 
there  on  using  a  double  set  of  polemen,  the  journey 
can  be  cut  in  time  to  some  eighteen  or  twenty  days. 
But  this  is  costly. 

The  distance  is  some  five  hundred  miles  in  an  air 
line,  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  as  the  river 
goes,  and  by  ordinary  travel  it  will  take  from  five 
to  seven  weeks  to  cover  it,  according  to  the  stage 
of  the  water.  The  trip  downstream  is  made  in 
from  ten  to  twenty  days,  as  the  boat  is  borne  along 
swiftly  by  the  strong  current,  aided  by  the  oars  of 
the  boatmen.  In  ascending,  better  time  is  made 
by  poling  instead  of  using  oars.  The  poling  is  done 
with  bamboo  poles,  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  in 
length,  one  end  of  which  is  spiked  with  iron.  One 
by  one  the  men  ascend  the  elevated  "nose"  at  the 
bow,  with  quick  eye  select  the  best  place  for  their 
pole,  and  with  a  dextrous  movement  thrust  the 
spiked  end  upon  it.  Both  palms  are  then  folded 
upon  the  end  of  the  pole,  and  the  body  swung 
around  upon  it,  with  the  hands  resting  against  one 
of  their  shoulders.  All  the  strength  and  weight 
of  the  body  is  thus  playing  upon  the  pole,  and 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  27 

down  the  front  of  the  boat  comes  the  tramp,  tramp, 
of  the  bare  feet  of  the  poleman.  When  he  reaches 
the  cabin,  he  pulls  out  his  pole,  and  swinging  it  in 
both  hands  high  above  the  heads  of  the  other  pole- 
men  bent  at  their  task,  he  marches  up  again  to  the 
front.  It  takes  a  strong  muscle,  well-developed 
body,  endurance,  and  skill,  to  pole  one  of  these 
Laos  boats.  To  the  traveler  in  the  cabin  there  is  al- 
ways pleasure  and  interest  in  watching  the  boatmen 
at  their  work,  and,  too,  there  is  the  spice  of  excite- 
ment, for  the  unpracticed  eye  cannot  decide  upon 
the  best  place  for  the  pole  to  be  thrust.  Even  a 
skillful  poleman  is  often  deceived,  and  throws  his 
pole  upon  a  limb  or  stump  too  frail.  Inevitably  he 
plunges  into  the  stream  amid  the  pleasant  taunts  of 
his  fellows,  but  before  the  boat  has  time  to  pass 
him,  he  is  back  again  safe,  with  his  pole,  and  none 
the  worse  for  his  unasked-for  ducking.  If  a  pole 
will  not  pull  out  when  jerked,  the  owner  seldom 
lets  go  his  grasp,  but  springs  into  the  water,  dis- 
lodges the  pole,  and  with  a  few  long,  swinging 
strokes  is  back  again  to  the  boat. 

A  glance  at  the  illustration  will  aid  in  under- 
standing the  economy  of  the  boat,  which  is  interest- 
ing, for  not  an  inch  of  space  is  lost  to  use.  The 
floor  is  made  of  small  pieces  of  movable  plank, 
which  can  be  raised  and  goods  stored  below.  Thus 
an  ordinary  boat  with  passengers  is  able  to  carry 
about  two  tons,  measured  forty  cubic  feet  to  a  ton. 
Such  a  boat  needs  a  crew  of  five  men,  four  pole- 
men  and  a  captain.  The  captain  stands  in  the 
cabin  to  the  rear,  just  under  the  flag  pole.  He 


28  THE     LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

holds  firmly  in  his  hands  the  long,  blade-like  rud- 
der, which  passes  out  a  hole  in  the  rear  of  the 
cabin,  at  the  left-hand  corner.  The  captain's  eye 
is  before  him,  watching  the  currents  of  the  stream 
steering  the  boat  ever  into  water  of  just  the  right 
depth,  avoiding  rocks  and  snags  and  shoals,  and 
giving  orders  with  as  much  authority  as  the  com- 
mander of  one  of  our  trans-Atlantic  liners.  And 
in  proportion  there  is  as  much  need  for  it.  One 
false  move  and  the  boat  is  swamped,  goods  lost, 
and  passengers  probably  drowned.  .But  so  skillful 
are  these  captains  that  an  accident  seldom  occurs, 
though  the  way  is  not  without  its  grave  dangers, 
especially  among  the  rapids  and  within  the  limits 
of  Bangkok's  busy  water  life.  The  crew  sleep  at 
night  upon  the  floor  of  the  boat  in  front  of  the 
low  freight  cabin,  unless,  indeed,  they  are  so  for- 
tunate as  to  have  been  beside  a  dry  bank  or  sand- 
bar when  the  sun  sank.  Then  the  softer  ground  is 
their  bed.  If  it  rains,  the  extra  pieces  on  top  of 
the  freight  cabin  are  pulled  forward. 

The  cooking  is  done  on  a  box  filled  with  earth,  on 
which  are  placed  stones  to  support  the  kettle,  sauce- 
pan, and  skillet.  This  primitive  stove  is  placed 
just  before  the  freight  cabin,  and  the  cook  must 
see  to  it  that  he  does  not  get  in  the  way  of  the 
busy  crew.  When  not  squatting  before  his  stove 
box,  he  is  usually  found  lounging  in  the  doorway 
of  the  freight  cabin.  Along  each  side  of  the  freight 
cabin,  just  above  the  gunwales,  runs  a  wide  board 
which  forms  a  passage-way  between  the  passenger 
cabin  and  the  front  of  the  boat.  The  boatmen  are 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  29 

clad  simply  in  a  loin  cloth;  and  a  small  piece  of 
cloth  tied  loosely  around  the  neck  serves  to  wipe 
the  face  when  dripping  with  either  perspiration 
or  with  water  got  by  a  ducking.  Their  tattooed 
legs  give  the  impression  of  trousers  to  the  knee. 
There  is  nothing  immodest  in  being  thus  scantily 
arrayed,  for  neither  custom  nor  climate  demand 
clothes  for  "every  day." 

The  front  of  the  passenger  cabin  is  open  and  has 
no  means  of  being  closed  save  by  the  dropping  of 
a  cloth  curtain  from  the  top.  This  falls  immediately 
behind  the  captain  and  shuts  the  passenger  into  a 
space  of  some  six  by  seven  or  eight  by  nine  feet. 
This  curtain  is  dropped  at  night  and  the  bottom 
tucked  beneath  the  foot  of  the  bedding.  In  the 
morning  the  crew  are  stirring  with  the  first  glow  of 
dawn,  and  the  passenger  is  awakened  by  the  creak- 
ing of  the  rudder  as  it  plays  in  the  hole.  When 
dressed,  the  curtain  is  raised  and  the  long  day 
begun,  a  day  in  which  there  is  no  privacy:  for  we 
are  in  Siam  where  privacy  is  unknown. 

But  though  the  trip  is  a  long  one  and  a  strange, 
trying  one  in  many  respects,  it  need  not  be  an  un- 
pleasant experience,  for  if  one  has  good  books,  a 
palm-leaf  fan,  a  mosquito  bar,  open  eyes,  alert 
mind,  warm  heart,  love  of  fun,  a  good  cook,  and  an 
agreeable  traveling  companion — for,  know  ye,  that 
the  luxury  of  a  cabin  all  to  one's  self  is  all  but  un- 
heard of  on  these  waters — the  journey  will  be  rich 
in  adventure  and  full  of  the  charms  of  a  tropical 
land  and  a  strange  people. 

In  the  fall  of  1895  I  made  the  trip  for  the  first 


30  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

time,  and  kept  a  full  journal,  from  which  I  will  quote 
in  part,  as  it  will  give  a  better  conception  of  the 
pleasures  and  trials  of  such  a  journey  than  could 
otherwise  be  given.  The  personal  touches  will 
not  be  wholly  eliminated  from  it,  as  later  on  in 
this  book  a  history  of  the  Laos  Mission  will  be 
given,  and  these  few  glimpses  of  the  men  and 
women  who  have  helped  to  make  that  history,  will 
draw  the  personages  nearer  to  the  reader  and  add 
understanding  to  the  history. 

There  was  a  large  party  of  us,  sixteen  in  all, 
counting  the  children.  Four  of  us  were  new  mis- 
sionaries, namely,  Miss  Hattie  E.  Ghormley,  the 
Rev.  William  Harris,  the  Rev.  L.  W.  Curtis,  and 
Mrs.  Curtis.  The  others  had  been  to  America  on 
furlough  and  were  returning  to  their  beloved  work 
and  people.  These  were  Dr.  and  Mrs.  James  Mc- 
Kean  and  two  children,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  C. 
Dodd,  and  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  G.  Collins  and  four 
children. 

October  ifth,  1895. — We  left  Bangkok  yester- 
day at  3  o'clock.  Our  leaving  caused  quite  a  bustle 
and  excitement  at  the  Wang  Lang  Compound 
where  we  had  been  so  graciously  entertained,  for 
our  party  was  large,  and  there  are  always  many 
things  to  be  done  at  the  last  minute.  Finally  good- 
by's  were  said,  and  we  were  all  in  our  boats.  One 
by  one  they  pulled  out  from  the  landing,  until  the 
whole  flotilla  of  eleven  wrere  moving  upstream. 
There  were  six  house  boats  and  five  freight  boats. 
From  each  of  the  house  boats  floated  our  dear  na- 
tional colors,  and  never  before  had  the  Stars  and 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  3! 

Stripes  seemed  more  beautiful  to  me.  I  felt  the 
force  of  what  they  stand  for  when  I  noted  how  the 
many  Chinese  junks  and  various  crafts  made  way 
for  us  instead  of  annoying  by  blocking  our  way  as 
they  did  the  freight  boats.  In  Bangkok  I  had 
heard  the  senior  members  of  our  party  regretting 
that  there  was  a  scarcity  of  flags,  and  I  now  un- 
derstood why.  We  made  slow  headway,  for  the 
river  was  full  of  boats  and  craft  of  all  kinds,  and 
our  men  had  to  row.  Pulling  these  heavy  boats 
against  the  current  is  difficult  and  tedious  work. 
So  busy  were  we  watching  the  ever-changing  river 
panorama,  that  we  were  surprised  when  our  boat 
pulled  up  at  a  wat  ground  and  we  saw  that  the  sun 
was  setting.  In  a  few  minutes  evening  had 

".  .  .  let  her  sable  curtain  down, 
And  pinned  it  with  a  star," 

and  darkness  settled,  shutting  out  the  view.  But 
it  could  not  drown  the  jargon  of  sounds,  the  bark- 
ing of  dogs,  snarls  of  pariah  curs,  sharp  voices  of 
old  men  and  women,  the  merry  laugh  of  children 
mingled  with  the  cries  of  others,  the  scream  of 
steam  launches,  the  wierd  chant  of  monks  at  their 
orisons,  and  the  near-by  clashing  of  wat  drums  and 
cymbals,  as  though  striving  to  drown  all  the  dis- 
cordant noises  around;  all  these  and  other  sounds 
came  rolling  into  our  little  cabin,  driving  away 
sleep  until  away  past  midnight. 

Our  boats  had  pulled  up  side  by  side  so  that 
we  could  communicate  with  each  other.  As  soon 
as  we  stopped,  our  cook,  Miian,  came  in  to  the 


32  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

cabin  and  by  signs  and  meaningless  words,  an- 
nounced that  supper  was  ready.  I  shook  out  the 
little  camp  table,  laid  the  cloth,  and  he  brought  in 
the  repast,  simple,  indeed,  but  passing  wonderful 
to  us,  when  we  knew  the  stove  and  kitchen  he  had 
at  his  disposal.  When  we  had  finished  our  supper 
and  the  table  was  cleared,  we  talked  a  while  with 
our  seniors,  and  it  was  decided  not  to  hold  evening 
worship  with  our  crews  until  the  noisy  and  danger- 
ous city  and  suburbs  were  passed.  We  were  told 
to  go  to  bed  early  as  we  must  be  up  with  the  sun. 

And'  what  a  bed  it  was !  No  bed  at  all,  until 
made.  We  first  folded  up  chairs  and  tables  and 
stowed  them  away  to  our  side.  Next  our  thin  cot- 
ton mattresses,  called  sails,  were  pulled  out  from 
the  low  freight  cabin  and  spread  upon  the  floor. 
They  completely  covered  the  floor,  for  our  cabin 
is  by  actual  measurement  only  six  by  seven  feet. 
We  have  the  smallest  house  boat  of  the  flotilla,  as 
we  go  to  Lakawn,  and  the  river  leading  there  is 
shallower  than  the  one  to  Chieng  Mai.  After  mak- 
ing the  bed,  we  hung  the  mosquito  net,  and  then 
came  the  almost  impossible  feat  of  getting  under  it 
without  letting  in  a  score  or  more  of  these  sly, 
persistent  mosquitoes.  That  accomplished,  we  had 
to  take  our  first  lesson  of  undressing  in  bed,  Our 
clothes  were  folded  and  laid  behind  the  pillows. 
Toward  morning,  a  noisy  thunderstorm  arose, — 
this  is  the  fag  end  of  the  rainy  season — and  our 
boat  cover  leaked  in  places.  There  was  not  much 
chance  to  get  away  from  the  drip.  The  worst  leak 
was  at  the  foot  of  the  bed.  W —  put  the  wash 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  33 

basin  there  to  catch  the  water.  The  plan  worked 
admirably  until  after  the  storm  had  passed  over  and 
we  had  dropped  asleep,  and  in  turning  he  knocked 
the  forgotten  basin  over  upon  me,  making  the  sec- 
ond state  worse  than  the  first.  To-day  I  have  had 
the  cover  hanging  out  of  the  window  drying. 

Afternoon. — The  bedding  is  dry  and  is  stowed 
away  for  the  night.  The  day  is  cloudy,  and  so  is 
fairly  pleasant.  Have  suffered  very  little  with  the 
heat.  We  are  tied  up  to  a  bank,  as  the  men  are 
taking  their  afternoon  rest.  This  is  a  gala  day 
with  the  Siamese.  It  is  one  of  the  days  of  the 
great  Tot  Katin  holidays  and  the  king  has  gone  up 
the  river  to  worship  at  one  of  the  wats. 

The  royal  barge  was  dazzling  in  its  beauty  as 
it  passed  us.  A  wealth  of  sunshine  was  flooding 
down  at  that  time,  and  the  gilded  oars  of  the 
seventy  oarsmen,  clad  in  livery  of  brilliant  red, 
were  resplendent  as  they  rose  and  fell  in  perfect 
unison.  I  have  often  read  of  this  royal  barge,  and 
am  delighted  that  I  had  so  near  a  view.  It  ap- 
peared to  be  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
length  and  six  or  eight  feet  wide.  Fore  and  aft, 
the  barge  gradually  narrowed  and  tapered  up- 
wards above  the  water  level  some  ten  or  twelve 
feet.  Hanging  from  the  stem  and  stern  were  two 
large  white  tassels  which  looked  soft  like  silk*  and 
also  a  golden  banner,  the  inscription  of  which  could 
not  be  seen.  The  uplifted  bow  was  designed  after 


*  I  afterwards  learned  that  they  were  made  from  the 
hair  of  the  Cashmere  goat. 

3 


34  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

a  monster  dragon  of  some  sort,  and  the  stern  was 
his  raised  tail.  The  whole  boat  was  richly  carved 
and  so  gilded  as  to  represent  scales  which  were 
inlaid  with  gems  and  stones.  These  shone  rich  and 
rare  in  the  sunlight. 

About  amidship  was  stretched  a  canopy  of  cloth 
of  gold,  beneath  which  was  a  throne,  and  seated 
upon  it  was  his  majesty  the  king.  We  had  only 
a  partial  view  of  him,  as  rich  curtains  hung  at  the 
sides  and  partly  concealed  him.  There  were  sev- 
eral persons  with  the  king,  but  what  was  their  rank 
or  station  we  could  not  tell.  This  peep  at  royalty 
is  surely  very  gratifying  after  our  disappointment 
a  few  days  ago  in  the  palace. 

Preceding  the  royal  barge  were  several  guard 
boats,  about  a  dozen,  I  think,  each  built  on  the 
same  general  plan  as  the  royal  barge,  but  not  so 
large  nor  so  richly  ornamented.  They  also  dipped 
their  oars  in  perfect  unison,  but  I  noted  on  each 
boat  a  man  standing  amidship  with  a  baton  in 
hand,  beating  time  by  dropping  it  perpendicularly 
upon  the  deck.  Following  the  royal  barge  were 
what  appeared  to  be  the  private  barges  of  nobles 
and  princes.  The  procession  gradually  diminished 
in  splendor  until  a  lot  of  small  boats  brought  up  the 
rear,  very  much  as  the  ever-present  crowd  of  small 
boys  does  in  America. 

While  in  Bangkok  we  were  told  that  when  in 
1891  the  Czarowitz — now  Czar — of  Russia  visited 
Bangkok,  he  was  met  at  the  mouth  of  the  Me  Nam 
by  these  royal  barges  of  the  king,  and  was  rowed 
up  to  the  palace  in  them.  He  certainly  must  have 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  35 

been  impressed  with  the  oriental  magnificence  of 
Siamese  royalty — when  it  has  its  face  washed  and 
hair  combed. 

October  i8th. — No  rain  last  night,  I  am  glad  to 
say.  We  had  fresh  fish  for  breakfast  that  Miian 
bought  from  a  market  boat  that  came  alongside. 
We  are  now  away  from  the  city,  and  so  our  boat- 
men pole.  There  can  surely  be  no  more  interest- 
ing mode  of  locomotion  than  this  poling.  The 
old  Greeks  would  have  gloried  in  it,  for  it  brings 
into  play  all  the  muscles  of  the  body  and  de- 
velops forms  of  beauty  and  symmetry. 

October  ipth. — It  has  been  extremely  hot  to-day. 
We  have  done  little  but  fan.  At  noon  we  stopped 
in  the  sun  for  dinner,  as  there  was  no  shade  upon 
the  rice  plain  we  were  crossing.  It  became  so  hot 
that  our  crew  threw  water  upon  the  roof  of  our 
cabin,  which  cooled  it  off  and  for  a  while  we  were 
more  comfortable. 

Monday,  October  2ist. — The  day  is  still  fresh  and 
cool,  for  the  sun  is  not  more  than  an  hour  high. 
We  stopped  Saturday  night  at  an  old  wat  ground 
and  found  it  to  be  a  delightful  place  to  spend  the 
Sabbath.  The  grove  was  large  and  the  ground 
covered  with  grass.  The  place  seemed  to  be  no 
longer  in  use,  as  no  monks  nor  cloisters  were  to 
be  seen.  Besides  the  crumbling  wat  there  was  a 
large,  open  building,  more  like  our  American 
pavilions  than  anything  else,  and  which  is  called 
here  a  sala,  or  rest  house,  built  by  merit  makers  for 
the  use  of  the  general  public.  Over  in  one  corner 
were  three  dust-covered  idols.  It  was  in  this  sala 


36  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

that  we  held  services,  the  first  one  just  after  break- 
fast, before  the  heat  of  the  day;  the  second  in  the 
cool  of  the  afternoon,  and  the  third  in  the  evening. 
Nearly  all  the  boat  crews  attended.  Each  man  had 
donned  either  a  gauze  vest  or  a  white  jacket,  and 
as  they  sat  Turk-fashion  on  mats  spread  upon  the 
floor,  they  made  an  interesting  picture.  Many  of 
the  men  are  Christians,  and  nearly  all  read,  so  the 
responsive  part  of  the  services  was  repeated  by 
many  voices.  Mr.  Dodd  preached  the  morning 
sermon,  and  I  never  before  saw  an  audience  give 
better  attention  to  a  speaker.  The  services  were 
all  in  the  Laos  tongue,  so  that  we  new  arrivals 
could  not  understand,  but  the  hymn  tunes  were 
familiar,  and  I  enjoyed  playing  them  on  Mrs.  Col- 
lins's  baby  organ,  and  thinking  the  familiar  words. 

After  the  benediction  of  the  morning  service,  we 
had  a  little  song  service  in  English.  One  of  the 
songs  was  "Jesus  Shall  Reign  Where'er  the  Sun." 
It  had  new  meaning  as  we  sang  it  for  the  first 
time  in  the  presence  of  gods  of  stone,  with  natives 
around  who  had  already  bowed  the  knee  to  him 
and  acknowledged  him  Lord  of  lords. 

The  afternoon  service  was  informal  and  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  explanations  of  large  picture 
charts.  This  drew  a  larger  crowd  from  the  vil- 
lage than  the  morning  service  had  done.  The 
evening  service  was  conducted  by  one  of  the  Chris- 
tian natives,  and  took  the  form  of  a  prayer  meeting. 

Monday  Afternoon. — A  short  time  after  writing 
the  above,  Mr.  Collins,  whose  boat  was  following 
ours,  signaled  us  to  stop.  We  did  so,  and  soon  all 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  37 

the  boats  of  our  flotilla  were  brought  together  by 
signals  and  calls.  Then  the  word  went  around 
that  thieves  had  been  at  work  during  the  night,  as 
Mr.  Collins's  gun  was  missing.  We  all  began  to 
search  at  once  to  see  if  we,  too,  had  been  robbed. 
It  was  discovered  that  Mr.  Dodd  had  lost  his  purse 
and  camera,  Mr.  Harris  a  lamp  and  gun,  Miss 
Ghormley  a  few  pieces  of  clothing,  and  Mr.  Col- 
lins his  gun,  two  satchels  of  clothing  and  a  Hitch- 
cock lamp.  Two  boats,  Dr.  McKean's  and  ours, 
had  not  been  touched.  We  decided  to  drop  back 
to  our  Sunday  stopping  place,  and  upon  reaching 
it,  Mr.  Dodd,  Mr.  Collins,  and  Mr.  Harris  at  once 
started  off  to  find  the  chief  of  the  village.  He  re- 
ferred them  to  the  kwen  of  the  province  as  the 
proper  authority,  but  as  he  is  at  a  distant  village 
attending  a  wedding  festivity,  they  sent  messengers 
with  our  passports  for  him. 

October  22d. — The  kwen  arrived  a  little  after 
dark  and  W —  and  I  joined  the  others  ashore  to 
hear  the  investigation.  It  was  certainly  a  strange- 
looking  hall  of  justice  and  a  unique  procedure.  On 
one  of  the  limbs  of  a  wide-spreading  Po  tree  hung 
a  lantern.  Beneath  it  on  the  ground  burned  a 
lamp.  The  lamp  was  the  center  of  many  concen- 
tric circles  of  people.  The  most  conspicuous  per- 
sonages of  the  assemblage  were  Mr.  Dodd  and  the 
kwen,  who  sat  upon  chairs  in  the  inner  circle. 
Around  to  Mr.  Dodd's  right  our  chairs  were  ar- 
ranged, and  from  the  kwen's  left  ran  rows  of  natives 
seated  upon  the  ground  in  crosslegged  fashion. 
The  kwen  was  a  fine-looking  Siamese,  with  a  dig- 


38  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

nity  of  bearing  and  ease  of  manner  which  formed 
a  marked  contrast  with  many  of  the  rude  natives 
around  him.  He  was  dressed  in  a  plaid  trouser- 
arrangement  cloth,  and  a  white  jacket.  His  two 
attendants  also  wore  jackets,  and  sat  on  the  ground 
at  his  feet.  Immediately  to  the  left  of  the  kwcn  sat, 
or  rather  crouched,  the  principal  witness,  a  leper 
who  lives  on  the  wat  ground  and  cares  for  it.  I 
was  shocked  at  sight  of  the  creature  so  near,  but 
Mrs.  Collins  whispered  to  me  that  there  was  prac- 
tically no  danger  from  this  form  of  leprosy.  He 
had  an  uncanny  look,  and  the  gleam  in  his  eye  was 
at  once  pathetic  and  desperate.  His  ringers  were 
all  gone  and  also  much  of  his  feet,  so  that  he  could 
no  longer  walk,  but  crawled  as  a  child.  I  did  not 
understand  the  proceedings,  but  I  have  learned 
since  that  our  boat  captains  thought  that  the  leper 
knew  the  names  of  the  thieves,  as  he  was  seen  talk- 
ing late  Sunday  afternoon  with  some  very  sly- 
looking  young  men.  Afterwards  the  young  men 
came  down  to  Mr.  Collins's  boat,  and  asked  to  buy 
books,  though  all  the  time  they  were  using  their 
eyes  looking  about  the  cabin.  When  told  that 
this  was  the  Sabbath  day  they  seemed  reluctant  to 
go,  even  after  having  received  some  books  of 
Scripture  as  a  gift.  The  leper  was  very  much 
excited  and  tangled  himself  up  in  his  testimony, 
for  at  times  all  our  crew  would  cry  out  aloud  in 
protest  at  some  statement  of  his,  and  they  would 
jabber  like  angry  monkeys  until  either  Mr.  Dodd 
or  the  kwen  spoke,  when  they  would  become  quiet, 
respectful,  and  attentive  again. 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  39 

The  kwen  wrote  down  the  evidence,  and  said 
that  he  would  return  "to-morrow,"  which  is  to- 
day, and  hoped  to  report  that  our  goods  were 
found.  But  nothing  has  been  heard  from  him  as 
yet.  The  men  went  gunning  this  afternoon,  and 
we  ladies  sat  beneath  the  trees  and  read,  sewed, 
wrote,  or  played  games  with  the  children.  But 
it  was  intensely  hot,  as  a  dead  calm  reigned.  I 
tried  a  game  of  crokinole  with  Mrs.  Dodd,  Miss 
Ghormley,  and  Mrs.  McKean,  but  it  was  too  hot 
to  enjoy  the  game. 

Our  crew  have  found  an  old  wat  drum  and  they 
are  having  a  sword  dance,  much  to  their  enjoy- 
ment, as  well  as  ours.  Two  of  the  men  are 
especially  skilled  as  dancers,  and  why  they  do  not 
cut  each  other  with  their  swords  is  a  mystery  to 
us  newcomers.  They  flourish  them  around  each 
other  in  an  alarming  way.  If  some  of  our  strug- 
gling sculptors  in  New  York  or  Paris  could  repro- 
duce these  perfect  physiques,  as  they  are  poised 
in  the  dance  figures,  their  fame  would  be  secured. 

October  2$d. — We  are  on  our  way  again.  The 
kwen's  mission  was  unsuccessful. 

Siamese  are  skilled  in  the  art  of  rowing  and 
paddling  a  boat,  so  much  so  that  they  can  come 
up  to  a  house  boat  at  night,  cut  the  cords  that 
fasten  the  window  shutters,  reach  in  their  hands 
and  get  what  is  within  reach,  close  the  shutter  and 
push  off  into  the  darkness.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
none  of  our  party  were  awakened  by  the  thieves, 
with  our  American  ears  as  sentinels,  but  these 
Laos,  children  of  Nature  that  they  are,  know  the 


40  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

art  of  sleeping  soundly  and  yet  keeping  open  a 
"weather"  ear;  yet  not  one  of  our  crew  was 
aroused,  which  seems  to  prove  that  these  thieves 
were  exceptionally  deft  in  their  trade. 

October  26th. — We  are  still  following  the  canals, 
to  escape  the  swell  of  launches  and  boats.  Houses 
are  now  beginning  to  be  grouped  in  villages  along 
the  bank  instead  of  being  in  continuous  rows,  as 
they  were  for  many  days  after  leaving  Bangkok. 
We  see  buffaloes  all  the  time.  They  lie  in  the 
water  with  only  their  noses  out,  reminding  one  of 
the  alligators  of  our  southern  swamps.  An  im- 
mense herd  has  just  been  driven  down  to  the  river 
by  some  children,  and  they  are  now  bathing.  The 
boys  and  girls  perch  upon  their  backs,  as  they  lie 
under  the  water,  and  play  with  them  as  does  my 
brother  with  his  dogs. 

We  have  to  drink  the  river  water  now,  as  our 
rain  water  we  brought  from  Bangkok  is  all  gone. 
Our  cook  allows  the  water  to  settle  and  then  boils 
it  vigorously  in  the  kettle,  from  which  he  strains 
it  into  porous  clay  bottles,  where  it  cools  nicely. 
We  then  drink  it,  trying  to  forget  that  it  ever  had 
any  connection  with  the  muddy  stream  beneath  us. 

We  are  adding  words  to  our  vocabulary,  and  are 
now  able  to  understand  many  of  the  things  our 
captain  tells  us,  probably,  though,  more  from  his 
facial  expression  and  signs  than  from  words.  W — 
and  I  study  every  day,  and  there  is  no  need  to  deny 
that  the  language  is  difficult.  It  seems  to  be  built 
upon  tones,  the  same  combination  of  sounds  mean- 
ing different  things  according  to  the  tone  given  it. 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  4! 

To  illustrate,  ma  means  "to  come,"  when  the  tone 
is  straightforward;  when  rising,  it  means  "dog"; 
and  when  emphatic,  it  becomes  "horse."  The  ear 
has  to  be  as  alert  as  the  mind,  if  one  would  conquer 
this  language. 

There  is  a  fine  breeze  blowing  to-day.  We  are 
gradually  leaving  the  low  swamps  behind,  and  now 
our  morning  and  afternoon  stops  are  sometimes 
made  beside  banks,  so  that  we  can  go  ashore  and 
stretch  ourselves  while  the  boatmen  are  resting. 
Mrs.  Dodd  was  crossing  over  to  Mrs.  McKean's 
boat  this  morning  to  chat  with  her  awhile,  and  fell 
in  the  water.  No  harm  done,  save  a  slight  wetting. 

Monday,  28th. — We  spent  yesterday  at  a  very 
poor  place,  for  there  was  little  shade,  and  we  suf- 
fered with  the  heat.  The  morning  service  was  the 
most  novel  one  that  I  ever  attended.  There  was 
no  sala,  and  only  a  tiny  thatched  shed  by  the  road- 
side was  available.  Beneath  this,  we  placed  our 
chairs,  and  the  natives  spread  mats  under  the 
banana  trees  to  the  front.  The  houses  near  by  were 
all  perched  up  on  poles,  some  six  or  seven  feet 
from  the  ground,  which  seems  to  be  the  approved 
Siamese  method.  To  reach  them,  one  must  climb 
up  a  ladder-like  stairway.  Mr.  Collins  conducted 
the  service.  The  opening  hymns  drew  quite  a 
crowd  so  that  when  Mr.  Collins  arose  to  announce 
his  text,  more  than  half  of  his  audience  were  listen- 
ing to  gospel  truths  for  the  first  time.  We  all  felt 
the  impressiveness  of  the  hour,  and  even  the  irrev- 
erent Siamese  were  subdued  for  a  few  minutes. 
But  hardly  had  Mr.  Collins  begun  his  sermon 


42  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

when  a  noisy  mother  hen,  with  a  large  brood  of 
young  chicks,  came  clucking  down  the  middle  of 
the  road  and  stopped  to  scratch  just  at  Mr.  Col- 
lins' feet,  much  to  the  merriment  of  a  group  of 
children  near  by.  They  laughed  outright  and  made 
remarks  which  drowned  Mr.  Collins'  voice,  and  so 
distracted  the  audience  that  he  had  to  reprove  the 
children,  who  quieted  down  for  awhile.  In  less 
than  five  minutes,  and  for  some  unaccountable 
reason,  the  dogs  of  the  neighborhood  set  up  a  howl. 
At  once  the  strangers  in  our  midst  began  to  shower 
down  upon  them  lumps  of  clay  and  such  things 
within  reach,  emphasized  with  threats  and  ejacula- 
tions which,  from  the  tone,  I  judged  anything  but 
complimentary.  Of  course,  the  sermon  was  in- 
terrupted, but  Mr.  Collins  waited  patiently  until  a 
state  of  semi-quiet  again  prevailed.  The  sermon 
proceeded,  and  all,  even  the  children,  were  giving 
excellent  attention,  when  a  woman  appeared  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  crowd,  with  two  children.  Some 
one  sitting  near  the  front  called  out  to  her  in  a 
loud  voice  to  come,  sit  down,  and  listen  to  what 
this  teacher  was  telling.  She  did  so,  and  the  ser- 
mon again  proceeded.  By  this  time  old  King  Sol 
had  crept  up  quite  a  bit  in  the  heavens,  and  was 
beaming  down  over  the  banana  groves  upon  the 
front  row.  It  took  only  a  few  minutes  for  him  to 
drive  the  men  and  women  to  the  rear.  Instead  of 
retiring  quietly,  they  deemed  it  necessary  to  make 
explanation  as  to  why  they  did  so.  When  they 
were  reseated,  the  sermon  proceeded.  But  not  for 
long,  as  a  man  came  up  the  bank  from  his  canoe, 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  43 

with  paddle  in  hand,  and  was  hailed  by  some  half 
dozen  men  in  the  audience.  They  must  have  told 
him  to  come  and  listen,  for  he  did  so,  and  the 
sermon  proceeded,  and  for  some  minutes,  too.  Mr. 
Collins  was  evidently  making  the  best  of  his  time, 
and  perfect  quiet  reigned.  It  was  broken,  though, 
by  an  old  woman  who  got  into  a  coughing  fit  and 
lost  her  chew  of  betel.  This  amused  a  group  of 
children,  who  giggled,  and  then  scampered  away 
toward  the  house,  and  climbed  up  the  ladder  like 
monkeys.  The  sermon  then  again  proceeded,  and 
was  soon  brought  to  a  close.  I  inquired  after- 
wards as  to  whether  this  sermon  was  a  typical  one 
or  not;  and  have  been  told  that  it  is  usual  for 
Siam,  but  that  among  the  Laos,  a  missionary  has 
a  more  respectful  audience.  Though  the  seed- 
sowing  was  so  unsatisfactory,  we  pray  that  it  may 
bring  forth  fruit. 

We  entered  the  river  this  morning,  just  after 
breakfast,  and  are  now  going  into  another  canal. 
There  are  hills  about  us  to-day,  and  how  beautiful 
they  are!  The  mountains  around  the  old  capital 
city  of  Ayuthia  have  been  pointed  out  to  us  in 
the  distance  to  the  east.  This  scenery  is  restful 
after  so  many  days  of  dead  level. 

Afternoon. — We  stopped  for  our  afternoon's  rest 
at  the  foot  of  a  steep  mountain,  which  rose  almost 
alone  from  the  plain  about  it.  A  fourth  of  the  way 
up  was  located  a  wat,  the  best-kept  wat  I  have 
yet  seen.  A  long  series  of  brick  steps  led  from 
the  bank  to  the  wat.  Here  we  found  a  large 
number  of  novitiates  and  other  boys  at  their  les- 


44  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

sons,  studying  out  loud  at  the  top  of  their  voices 
in  the  approved  manner  of  Siamese.  In  the  wat 
were  people  worshiping.  We  were  told  that  at 
the  very  top  of  the  mountain  was  a  deserted  wat, 
and  that  we  would  be  free  to  take  away  as  curios 
any  old  relics  that  we  might  find  there.  The 
ascent  looked  forbidding,  but  we  thought  of  the 
likelihood  of  rare  curios,  and  so  Mr.  Dodd,  Mr. 
Harris,  W — ,  and  I  left  the  others  and  started  up 
the  steep,  rocky,  overgrown  patch.  It  was  stiff, 
hard  climbing,  but  the  goal  was  finally  reached,  and 
we  stood  upon  the  old  ruins,  which  had  crumbled 
to  the  ground  and  lay  moss-covered  and  vine- 
draped,  not  even  a  shadow  of  the  glory  that  once 
existed.  We  found  not  a  single  thing  that  was 
worth  picking  up  or  carrying  away.  We  all  seated 
ourselves  upon  the  fallen  wall  to  rest,  and  to  let  the 
peaceful  beauty  of  the  place  sink  into  our  souls, 
and  to  give  play  to  the  thoughts  which  the  scene 
aroused.  Thoughts  so  different  from  those  stirred 
by  ruins  like  those  of  old  Melrose!  For  here  we 
were  witnessing  the  efforts  of  the  children  of  men 
of  past  generations  as  they  reached  up  from  the 
darkness  which  enveloped  them  toward  "the  un- 
known God."  In  ignorance  and  in  superstition 
were  their  children  now  worshiping,  still  believing 
that  the  "Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or 
stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's  device."  And  I  re- 
membered how  it  is  written  of  that  thrilling  scene 
on  Mars'  Hill,  that  "some  mocked:  and  others  said, 
We  will  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter,  while 
others  clave  unto  Paul  and  believed."  And  I 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  45 

thought  that  though  the  times  change,  still  the 
same  problems  of  good  and  evil,  choice  between 
God  and  mammon,  exist  as  of  old,  for  daily  now 
do  I  see  that  event  on  Mars'  Hill  repeated,  and — 
but  from  below  came  softly,  sweetly,  the  full,  mel- 
low notes  of  our  boat  gong.  Our  captains  were 
impatient  to  be  moving.  We  all  sprang  to  our 
feet  and  pushed  our  way  through  the  brush  toward 
the  pathway.  Suddenly  there  burst  upon  us  a 
vision  of  the  wide  stretch  of  country  before  us, 
reaching  afar  off  into  the  distance  until  lost  in  the 
haze  of  the  horizon.  Flowing  across  the  land,  with 
a  broad,  majestic  sweep,  shining  like  silver  in  the 
slanting  rays  of  the  afternoon  sun,  was  the  Me 
Nam,  "Mother  of  Waters."  It  looked  as  though 
she  were  reluctant  to  leave  her  beloved  offspring, 
Siam,  whom  she  nourished  and  cherished,  for  in- 
stead of  going  straight  for  the  sea,  she  wound  in 
and  out,  making  bends  and  curves,  and  here  and 
there  turning  round  about  as  though  determined 
to  seek  again  the  far  north.  She  seemed  lovingly 
to  caress  the  villages  clustered  about  her  banks, 
and  smiled  upon  their  beauty,  their  palm  trees,  and 
fruit  groves. 

We  were  very  quiet  during  our  descent.  The 
way  was  precipitous  and  dangerous,  and  we  each 
had  our  own  thoughts. 

".  .  .  And  God's  own  profound 
Was  above  me,  and  round  me  the  mountains,  and  under, 

the  sea, 

And  within  me  my  heart  to  bear  witness  what  was  and 
shall  be." 


46  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

Upon  reaching  the  boats  we  were  mute  to  re- 
proaches for  staying  so  long  and  coming  back 
trophyless.  We  each  felt  that  we  returned  loaded 
with  rare  and  rich  gems. 

The  sun  is  now  sinking.  What  a  grand  spec- 
tacle it  must  be  from  that  mountain  top!  The 
river  is  turned  into  gold,  for  the  sunset  glow  is 
saffron.  Here  it  is  simply  the  same  old  muddy 
stream.  I  shall  try  and  learn  a  practical  lesson 
from  this  afternoon's  experience,  and  when  life 
seems  ordinary  and  commonplace,  will  fly  in  spirit 
to  some  mountain  top  and  see  it  turn  into  silver 
and  gold. 

October  2C>th. — Several  of  our  party  are  sick  with 
fever.  Dr.  McKean  thinks  that  there  are  no  seri- 
ous cases.  My  ducks  are  all  gone,  and  the  chicken 
coop  is  nearly  empty.  We  have  got  beyond  the 
reach  of  market  boats,  and  these  villages  we  are 
passing  have  no  markets  whatever,  and  a  villager 
will  not  sell  his  eggs  nor  chickens  nor  fruit  for  love 
nor  money.  I  begin  to  look  forward  to  Pak  Nam 
Po  where  we  hope  to  buy  a  fresh  supply. 

Wednesday,  ^oth. — Two  weeks  out  from  Bang- 
kok to-day.  Mountains  are  now  piled  up  about 
us,  not  great  towers  of  strength,  but  far  too 
imposing  to  be  called  hills.  At  morning  and 
night  the  shadows  and  lights  upon  them  are  beau- 
tiful. We  have  just  had  pointed  out  to  us  a 
Catholic  church  and  school.  We  have  passed  sev- 
eral since  nearing  Pak  Nam  Po.  The  buildings 
are  all  large  and  fine  looking,  with  crowds  of  school 
children  about  them,  clad  in  cassocks.  A  gilded 


SIX    WEEKS    IN    A    SIX-BY-SEVEN  47 

cross  looks  down  from  the  top  of  each  building. 
I  can  readily  see  how  the  Siamese  with  their 
love  of  show  and  ceremony,  would  be  attracted 
by  the  ritual  and  pomp  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 

The  days  seem  to  be  as  hot  new  as  formerly, 
but  the  nights  are  much  cooler.  During  the  heat 
of  the  day  we  often  hang  up  wet  sheets  or  towels 
to  the  side  of  our  cabin,  which  reduces  the  tem- 
perature. A  handkerchief  wrung  tightly  from 
water,  waved  briskly  in  the  air,  and  laid  upon  the 
head,  is  very  refreshing,  and  enables  us  to  study 
our  language  lessons  with  .better  results. 

Yesterday  we  emptied  a  tin  of  milk,  and  W — 
wished  to  clean  it  out  to  use  as  a  cover  for  our 
water  bottle.  So  when  we  stopped  for  dinner  and 
one  of  the  crew  threw  waiter  on  the  cabin  to  cool 
it,  W —  caught  the  first  of  the  drip  in  the  tin,  and 
the  water  was  hot  enough  to  melt  the  milk  from 
the  grooves. 

Thursday  Morning. — Passed  a  restless  night,  as 
mosquitoes  got  in  our  net.  They  had  to  stay  in, 
for  we  could  not  see  to  kill  them,  and  outside  they 
were  buzzing  in  swarms  so  that  we  did  not  dare 
try  to  raise  the  net  to  strike  a  light.  I  find  that  in 
some  places  where  we  stop  they  are  so  much  worse 
than  in  others.  I  have  also  discovered  that  this 
mosquito  net  of  ours  is  good  for  other  purposes 
than  the  keeping  out  of  these  pestilent  little  vam- 
pires. The  agile  centipede  is  our  bitter  enemy; 
and  the  more  innocent,  though  more  numerous 
cockroach,  has  been  known  to  bite  as  I  can  attest; 


48  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

lizards  and  mice  have  a  way  of  making  themselves 
at  home  in  these  boats,  and  altogether  we  lie  down 
to  more  peaceful  slumbers  when  beneath  our 
netting. 


CHAPTER  IV 

FROM  PAK  NAM  PO  TO  RAHENG 

THURSDAY,  3isx,  Pak  Nam  Po. — We  reached 
this  place  this  morning.  It  is  pleasantly  situated 
at  the  conjunction  of  the  Me  Ping  and  the  Me  Nan 
rivers,  which  two  form  the  Me  Nam.  The  Me 
Nan  is  thought  by  many  to  be  the  main  stream. 
It  is  navigable  at  all  seasons,  not  being  dependent 
upon  the  annual  rains  for  its  water  supply.  It  is 
up  this  broad  stream  that  the  Nan  and  Pre  mis- 
sionaries go,  though  the  latter  have  to  make  a 
short  overland  trip  after  leaving  it  at  Ta  It.  Pak 
Nam  Po  is  like  Bangkok,  on  a  very  small  scale, 
partly  upon  the  water  and  partly  upon  land,  though 
it  cannot  compare  with  the  capital  in  picturesque- 
ness.  We  have  been  lying  here  for  several  hours, 
as  each  family  had  to  send  to  market  to  buy  what 
could  be  found  to  eat.  Our  cook  bought  some  very 
nice  pumaloes,  and  bananas,  oranges,  and  cocoa- 
nuts,  also  eggs  and  lard.  He  could  get  no  chickens 
nor  ducks.  So  I  look  ruefully  at  the  almost  empty 
coop  perched  up  on  top  of  the  freight  cabin  and 
hope  the  few  chickens  therein  will  last  to  Raheng. 
It  is  not  aesthetic,  I  know,  this  practical  providing, 
with  chicken  coops  forming  part  of  every  landscape 
and  appearing  more  attractive  to  me  when  full, 
but  it  is  really  quite  an  unavoidable  state  of  affairs. 
Miian  took  advantage  of  the  long  stop  to  scour  the 
4  49 


5O  THE     LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

floor  of  our  cabin.  He  did  it  with  the  end  of  a 
cocoanut  husk,  and  the  result  is  entirely  satisfac- 
tory. I  notice  that  the  husk  lathered  slightly  like 
soap.  Mrs.  McKean  says  that  all  the  natives  scour 
this  way,  when  they  scour  at  all. 

Afternoon. — We  are  again  on  our  way,  and  so 
now  "good-by"  Me  Nam,  and  gladly  "good-by" 
steam  launch  and  Chinese  junks.  The  junks  have 
a  way  of  coming  up  in  large  companies  to 
load  with  rice  and  fruit.  They  string  them- 
selves together  and  hire  a  steam  launch  to  tow 
them.  To  me  such  a  procession  in  a  river 
bend  or  narrow  pass  is  an  unpleasant  experience. 
Above  Pak  Nam  Po,  the  river  is  so  shifting  in  its 
current,  and  shallow,  except  at  flood  times,  that 
launches  and  junks  never  venture  into  it.  Our 
captains  seem  to  be  very  glad  to  have  passed  Pak 
Nam  Po.  They  say  that  when  they  pass  Raheng 
then  "pleasant  truly"  as  all  fear  of  Siamese  and 
robbers  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 

Just  in  front  of  me  are  three  boat  houses.  Chil- 
dren are  sitting  round  on  the  gunwales  with  feet 
dangling  in  the  water.  One  large  girl  is  bathing, 
by  pouring  water  over  her  body  from  a  cocoanut 
dipper.  There!  If  every  one  of  them  has  not 
dropped  into  the  water  and  now  all  are  bobbing 
about  like  ducks!  A  woman  is  going  up  the  bank 
with  two  water  baskets  hung  from  a  bamboo  pole, 
which  is  laid  across  her  shoulder.  I  say  "water 
basket,"  for  it  seems  to  be  a  basket  dammared 
with  resin  of  some  kind. 

Friday. — One  of  the  varieties  of  banana  that  I 


FROM    PAR    NAM    PO    TO    RAHENG  5! 

have  eaten  is  slightly  acid,  and  when  fried  or 
roasted  is  delicate  in  flavor,  being  really  delicious. 
It  makes  an  excellent  pie  when  mixed  with  tam- 
arind. This  is  not  a  caprice  of  my  palate,  for  W — 
and  all  of  our  party  are  with  me  in  this  decision. 

The  country  is  beautiful,  hills  and  mountains 
about  here  and  there,  and  the  river  banks  rich  in 
all  shades  of  green,  having  for  a  border  at  the  top 
the  nodding  silver  and  tan  heads  of  grasses.  The 
stream  is  wide,  but  the  current  is  not  very  swift,  and 
the  men  touch  bottom  with  their  poles  in  mid- 
stream. I  am  glad  that  we  are  now  able  to  make 
stops  at  places  other  than  villages.  The  constant 
sight  of  so  much  dirt  and  betel-chewing  is  oppres- 
sive. And  the  incessant  chatting  in  high-pitched, 
harsh  tones  of  the  plebian  Siamese  has  been  a 
severe  strain  upon  our  nerves.  Our  captain  has  a 
way  of  saying  baw  moan,  "not  pleasant,"  when  we 
are  in  the  midst  of  so  much  disturbance.  The  vil- 
lages are  yet  every  mite  as  unpleasant,  but  they  are 
fewer,  and  water  life  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Our  morning  stop  was  on  the  right  bank  at  a 
village  wat,  which  was  the  trimmest,  best-kept 
wat  I  have  seen,  and  the  most  pleasing  in  its  set- 
ting of  wide  spreading  trees  and  tall  palms  and 
palmettoes.  Some  one  had  made  good  merit,  for 
the  whole  ground  was  freshly  swept.  From  the 
wat  came  the  sound  of  many  voices  chanting  in 
regular  intonations.  We  drew  near,  but  found  all 
the  doors  and  windows  closed.  Usually  these 
wats  have  an  unclosed  front  or  side,  but  this  one 
could  be  tightly  closed.  A  monk  lounging  near 


52  THE     LAOS     OF    NORTH    SIAM 

by  said  that  it  would  be  perfectly  admissible  for 
us  to  peep  in  if  we  wished  to.  This  we  did.  At 
first  we  could  see  nothing,  as  it  was  too  dark,  but 
gradually  I  noted  that  men,  women,  and  children 
were  seated  in  rows  upon  the  floor  and  were  bow- 
ing their  heads  in  their  folded  hands  until  they 
touched  the  floor,  before  the  staring  image  of 
Buddha  in  the  rear.  A  few  tapers  burned  at  the 
foot  of  the  altar  and  gave  the  only  light  in  the 
room.  An  abbot  sat  close  by  and  evidently  was 
conducting  the  service.  The  monotone  of  the 
chanted  service  was  very  weird,  and  the  dim  room, 
the  staring  idol,  the  waxen  tapers,  all  gave  a  som- 
ber, even  spectral  aspect  to  the  whole.  The  chil- 
dren looked  frightened,  and  I  did  not  wonder  that 
they  should  be  so  impressed.  Without  in  the 
beautiful  grove  we  saw  the  robes  of  a  monk  hang- 
ing upon  one  of  the  trees.  So  the  order  has  re- 
cently lost  one  of  their  brethren  in  death. 

Saturday,  November  2d. — All  the  sick  ones  are 
better,  excepting  Mrs.  Dodd,  who  is  not  yet  able 
to  sit  up  all  day.  She  lies  much  of  the  time  on  a 
couch  made  on  the  floor  at  the  rear  of  their  cabin. 

To-day  a  fine  breeze  is  blowing.  In  the  distance 
toward  Raheng  are  mountains  which  look  like 
palisades,  and  are  as  purple  as  are  the  Blue  Ridge 
of  my  dear  native  State.  Much  of  the  mountain 
land  that  we  pass  through  is  of  barren  rock,  the 
strata  of  which  rises  perpendicularly  in  immense 
columns.  The  country  grows  more  and  more 
beautiful,  the  mosquitoes  less  troublesome,  and  the 
days  cooler. 


FROM  PAK  NAM  PO  TO  RAHENG      53 

Last  night  we  stopped  beside  a  wide-stretching 
sand  bar.  It  gleamed  white  and  enticing  in  the 
starlight,  so  all  decided  to  have  evening  worship 
there  instead  of  in  our  cabins.  Of  course,  we  new- 
comers cannot  yet  speak  the  vernacular,  so  always 
go  with  our  crews  to  the  cabin  of  some  one  of  our 
seniors  for  the  evening  prayer  service.  We  had 
last  night  what  might  be  termed  a  union  service, 
and  after  the  closing  hymn  and  prayer  we  all  sat 
chatting  for  a  while,  enjoying  the  calm  peace  of  a 
tropical  night.  The  charm  of  the  sky  was  inde- 
scribable. It  was  thickly  studded  with  the  very 
brightest  of  stars,  which  steadfastly  refused  to 
twinkle,  but  which  won  our  hearts  by  their  soft 
glow,  a  glory  all  their  own,  which  is  unknown  to 
our  home-land  clime.  How  I  have  learned  to  love 
the  liquid  light  of  these  southern  stars!  Before 
we  came  to  our  cabins,  the  men  of  our  party  had 
a  brisk  game  of  leapfrog.  They  looked  like  a 
crowd  of  college  boys  instead  of  dignified  men.  A 
bath  or  swim  in  the  clear  shallow  water  surround- 
ing the  sand  bar  now  forms  a  part  of  our  evening 
pleasures.  The  men  have  been  plunging  in  all 
along,  but  we  ladies  have  not  until  recently. 

Monday  Morning. — We  spent  a  profitable  and 
happy  Sabbath,  though  both  Mrs.  Collins  and  Mrs. 
Dodd  were  confined  to  their  cabins  with  fever. 
The  river  is  rapidly  falling  and  large  portions  of 
its  bed  are  left  bare  and  dry.  These  sand  bars 
make  ideal  places  for  stopping  at  night.  During 
the  day  they  are  so  hot  that  the  sand  actually  burns 
when  touched. 


54  THE     LAOS     OF     NORTH     SIAM 

Tuesday,  $th. — Every  afternoon  as  the  sun  nears 
the  horizon  W —  and  I  crawl  out  on  top  of  our 
freight  cabin  and  sit  there  until 

"Light  thickens;  and  the  crow 
Makes  wing  to  the  rooky  wood"; 

when  the  boats  all  tie  up  for  the  night  and  we 
come  in  to  supper.  The  glow  of  sky  and  earth  at 
sunset  makes  of  earth  a  fairyland.  Not  rich  and 
resplendent  as  are  the  sunsets  at  home,  but  soft 
and  mellow,  and  wooing  with  tints  of  yellow  and 
saffron  and  green,  such  bewitching  hues,  that  one 
is  reminded  of  a  perfect  spring  time  before  the 
richer  blooms  of  June  have  come. 

Our  boat  crews  evidently  enjoy  this  river  life. 
They  are  merry  all  day  long,  and  I  have  yet  to 
hear  the  first  quarrel.  Like  children  they  seem 
to  think  only  of  the  present  hour,  and  unlike  us 
they  are  not  always  reaching  out  for  something 
beyond.  Plus  ultra  is  meaningless  to  them,  not 
so  much  for  being  in  the  Latin  tongue  as  for  ex- 
pressing a  condition  utterly  beyond  their  compre- 
hension. W —  and  I  have  noted  with  pleasure 
that  this  does  not  apply  to  our  Christian  converts. 
They  love  to  lie  flat  on  their  backs  reading  and 
pondering  over  one  of  the  gospels,  or  committing 
to  memory  the  catechism,  or  reading  some  one  of 
the  several  little  books  printed  by  the  mission. 

A  Chinaman's  boat  from  Chieng  Mai  has  passed 
us.  It  stopped  us,  and  the  Chinaman  delighted 
our  hearts  by  delivering  to  us  letters  from  the  mis- 
sionaries there.  He  also  had  a  supply  of  good 


FROM  PAK  NAM  PO  TO  RAHENG       55 

things  for  the  inner  man  that  Mrs.  McGilvary  in 
thoughtful  love  had  sent  to  the  party.  Eggs!  how 
welcome!  a  jar  of  tamarind  sauce  for  each  family; 
cocoanuts,  and  a  large  cake!  I  did  not  know  be- 
fore how  good  cake  could  be. 

The  nights  are  cold  and  we  sleep  under  blankets, 
though  the  thermometer  has  not  gone  below  56°. 
It  must  be  our  nearness  to  the  water  that  causes 
us  to  feel  the  cold  so  keenly.  One  must  needs  pass 
restless  nights  bathed  in  stinging  perspiration  to 
realize  the  luxury  of  drawing  up  a  light-weight 
blanket.  By  noon,  though,  the  perspiration  runs 
down  our  faces  in  little  rills,  if  we  exert  ourselves 
ever  so  little. 

At  every  stopping  place  our  men  cast  their  nets 
for  fish.  The  small  ones  they  chop  up  and  put  in 
the  curry  pot,  and  the  large  ones  they  split  and 
sun-dry.  The  river  fairly  seems  to  teem  with  fish. 
I  wonder  how  much  I  will  have  to  unlearn  about 
Buddhism  and  this  people.  They  eat  all  the  meat 
they  can  get,  putting  it  into  their  curry  pots,  even 
being  ravenous  about  pork,  and  many  of  the  men 
are  the  staunchest  of  Buddhists,  and  have  served 
terms  in  the  wats. 

Each  crew  does  its  own  cooking.  They  steam 
rice  once  a  day,  usually  in  the  early  morning  hour, 
before  the  first  glow  of  dawn.  After  breakfast  it 
is  packed  into  little  baskets  and  eaten  cold  the 
remainder  of  the  day  with  hot  curry. 

Wednesday. — My  heart  has  stood  still  twice  to- 
day. First  when  we  were  passing  through  a  line 
of  bamboo  sticks  driven  into  the  river  bottom  to 


56  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH     SIAM 

obstruct  the  downward  passage  of  fish,  and  force 
them  into  traps.  These  sticks  are  usually  pliable 
and  bend  as  the  boat  pushes  against  them.  We 
pass  through  many  of  them  daily,  but  this  time 
our  boat  caught  on  a  stiff  one,  a  veritable  pole, 
pitching  the  boat  over  to  one  side.  All  our  books 
and  toilet  articles  on  the  shelf  to  the  back  of  our 
cabin,  came  showering  down  upon  our  heads.  I 
saw  Tennyson's  Poems  and  my  darning  gourd  dive 
through  the  window,  and  I  held  tightly  to  the  side 
to  keep  from  following  them.  In  a  twinkling  the 
men  had  the  boat  off  the  pole  and  we  were  trying 
to  restore  order,  while  Miian  fussed  and  grumbled 
at  his  upset  dinner,  and  lost  saucepan.  Both 
saucepan  and  soup  had  gone  overboard.  Alas! 
that  soup  contained  my  last  tin  of  tomatoes! 

The  second  fright  occurred  in  the  bend  of  the 
river,  where  the  stream  was  swift  and  narrow,  and 
the  banks  high,  so  that  our  crew  could  not  see  a 
raft  of  teak  logs  above.  We  met  directly  in  the 
bend,  and  for  a  few  seconds  we  thought  that  we 
were  lost.  Our  captain  shouted  orders  and  swung 
to  his  rudder,  and  the  polemen  worked  like  Tro- 
jans. As  the  raft  swept  by,  it  missed  us  less  than 
a  foot. 

Saturday,  pth. — We  are  nearing  Raheng,  and  the 
villages  on  the  river  bank  are  nearer  together, 
almost  continuous.  Our  morning  stop  was  beside 
a  pleasant  bank,  so  we  all  went  ashore.  Several 
of  us  wandered  into  the  village.  Beneath  one  of 
the  houses  a  pretty  Siamese  girl  was  weaving  cloth. 
As  a  child  I  have  often  watched  weaving  in  the 


FROM  PAK  NAM  PO  TO  RAHENG       57 

poor  homes  about  my  father's  plantation,  but  the 
looms  could  not  compare  in  crudeness  with  this 
one.  It  is  true  that  it  had  all  the  essentials  of  a 
good  working  hand  loom,  and  that  the  cloth  she 
was  making  was  really  beautiful,  smooth,  and  even 
in  design.  The  girl  was  deft  in  throwing  the  shut- 
tle and  in  reversing  the  healds  by  means  of  treadles. 
She  made  a  pretty  picture  as  she  sat  there  upon 
her  three-legged  stool,  apparently  all  intent  upon 
her  work,  yet  watching  us  from  beneath  her  long 
dark  lashes,  and  pleased,  too,  at  our  words  of  ap- 
proval which  she  understood  as  though  she  had 
known  English.  There  is  one  language  that  is 
common  to  all  races  and  peoples. 

In  the  house  above  lay  a  lad  with  his  leg  in  a 
splint.  A  few  days  before  it  had  been  broken  by 
a  buffalo.  Only  a  few  days,  but  he  was  pitifully 
emaciated,  the  lines  of  suffering  upon  his  face  be- 
ing deep.  His  mother  asked  Dr.  McKean  to  come 
and  look  at  the  limb  to  see  if  he  could  do  any- 
thing for  the  child.  There  was  nothing  he  could 
do  under  all  the  existing  complex  circumstances, 
save  to  encourage  the  poor  boy  and  speak  a  word 
of  cheer  to  the  mother.  I  noted  that  he  left  with 
them  some  booklets  and  one  of  the  gospels  with 
a  word  pointing  to  the  Great  Physician.  The 
mother  offered  us  her  betel  tray  with  the  invitation 
to  chew.  Mrs.  Dodd  explained  that  it  was  not  our 
custom  and  begged  to  be  excused.  The  woman 
looked  puzzled  and  asked:  "Then  pray  what  do 
you  chew?"  When  told,  "Nothing,"  she  looked 
astounded  and  incredulous.  She  felt  our  clothes, 


58  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

admired  our  white  skins,  and  asked  questions  by 
the  dozen.  She  explained  that  never  before  had 
she  seen  foreign  ladies.  When  little  Kate  Mc- 
Kean,  who  is  a  winsome,  fairy-like  blonde,  ran  up 
to  bid  us  come  to  the  boats,  the  woman  exclaimed 
that  she  must  be  a  holy  being  of  a  heavenly  race. 

Monday,  nth. — Yesterday  was  the  quietest  Sab- 
bath we  have  had,  for  we  stopped  at  an  island  in 
mid  stream.  Dr.  McKean  conducted  the  Laos 
service,  preaching  upon  the  necessity  of  the  new 
birth.  It  was  a  most  impressive  hour,  and  after 
the  benediction  by  Mr.  Dodd  several  of  the  heathen 
men  of  the  crew  remained  to  talk  further,  and  they 
seem  to  be  honest  inquirers  of  the  truth. 

Afternoon. — We  reached  Raheng  at  noon.  How 
beautifully  located  this  city  is!  Built  upon  the 
east  bank,  it  overlooks  the  broad  stream  and  moun- 
tains beyond.  These  mountains  are  never  the 
same,  but  all  day  long  keep  changing  their  hues 
and  aspects  as  the  clouds  and  shadows  vary.  I 
have  seldom  seen  a  more  beautiful  location  for  an 
inland  city.  Excepting  the  scenery  there  is  little 
which  is  beautiful  and  interesting  to  be  seen.  The 
city  is  made  up  of  native  huts,  crowded  with  peo- 
ple. The  latter  form  a  most  interesting  study,  for 
the  population  here  is  about  half  and  half  Siamese 
and  Laos.  There  are  many  very  apparent  differ- 
ences between  the  two  peoples  for  all  that  they  are 
related  and  live  under  the  same  flag.  I  have  not 
noted  a  single  difference  which  is  not  in  favor  of 
the  Laos,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  tattooing.  The 
Laos  men  tattoo  their  legs,  and  it  seems  to  me 


FROM  PAR  NAM  PO  TO  RAHENG       59 

now  to  be  a  rude  and  barbarous  custom.  I  must 
find  out  why  they  do  it.  The  women  look  both 
graceful  and  modest  in  their  skirts,  which  come  to 
the  ankle,  and  with  their  long,  heavy  hair  coiled 
upon  their  shapely  heads.  The  short  hair  and 
man-like  dress  of  the  Siamese  women  contrast 
harshly  with  it.  The  Siamese  women  are  mascu- 
line in  muscle,  as  well  as  appearance,  for  the  many 
years  spent  in  the  idle  monkhood  seems  to  sap  all 
virile  qualities  from  the  men.  True,  the  women 
enjoy  a  considerable  degree  of  freedom,  very  un- 
like most  oriental  countries,  but  they  have  to  work 
so  hard  that  I  have  felt  very  pitiful  toward  them. 
I  have  seen  women  plowing  in  the  fields  while 
in  the  house  lay  men  smoking  and  lounging  and 
chewing.  This  betel  is  chewed  so  constantly  by 
men  and  women  that  their  mouths  become  dis- 
figured by  its  use.  Except  among  the  gentry  and 
Christians  of  Bangkok,  I  have  not  seen  a  good- 
looking  middle-aged  Siamese.  They  are  old, 
haggard,  and  cross-looking  at  thirty.  Nature  tries 
to  set  things  right  in  each  successive  generation, 
for  the  children  are  pretty,  bright-eyed,  and  attrac- 
tive. They  all  run  around  perfectly  nude,  except 
for  silver  anklets  or  necklace. 

Raheng  is  about  a  hundred  miles,  a  little  north 
of  east  of  Maulmein.  I  cannot  ascertain  its  popula- 
tion, but  it  must  be  very  great.  Up  and  down  the 
river  bank  it  runs  for  some  ten  miles,  but  in  depth 
it  is  only  a  hundred  or  so  yards.  It  is  the  great 
postal-service  center,  for  mails  from  Maulmein  and 
Bangkok  are  here  distributed  to  go  all  over  the 


6O  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

north  country.  The  various  British  timber  com- 
panies manned  by  foreigners,  usually  cultured  and 
courteous  Englishmen,  have  here  large  compounds 
for  their  headquarters.  Many  hundred  elephants 
are  employed  by  them  to  work  timber  in  the  ad- 
jacent forests.  It  is  at  Raheng  that  the  teak  logs, 
which  are  cut  in  forests  in  the  north  of  the  Laos 
provinces  and  floated  down  with  the  currents,  are 
collected  in  rafts,  and  set  to  Bangkok.  Each  raft 
has  several  natives  to  steer  it  and  guard  it  from 
robbers.  Above  Raheng  there  are  no  rafts,  for  the 
rapids  would  tear  them  to  pieces.  Besides  being 
a  center  for  timber  men,  there  seems  to  be  a  good 
trade  in  stick-lac,  gums  for  dammering,  hides,  to- 
bacco, and  such  things,  carried  on  by  natives  and 
Chinamen.  If  the  country  were  opened  up  by  a 
railroad  it  would  bound  forward  and  become  one 
of  the  garden  spots  of  the  East.  Much  of  the  fer- 
tile land  lies  wholly  untilled.  The  rice  plains  are 
worked  only  sufficiently  to  supply  the  local  de- 
mand. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  that  Indian  rupees  were 
more  acceptable  in  the  market  than  Siamese  ticals. 
The  Bombay  Burmah  Company  kindly  gave  us 
rupees  for  our  ticals,  as  from  now  on  only  rupees 
can  be  used  in  buying  from  natives.  So  here  we 
are  living  under  the  flag  of  the  King  of  Siam,  and 
buying  our  food  with  good  English  rupees. 

Tuesday. — One  of  our  freight  boats  and  Mr. 
Dodd's  passenger  boat  were  found  to  be  leaking, 
so  we  had  to  lie  over  to-day  and  have  them  dam- 
mered.  The  day  has  passed  pleasantly  beneath  the 


FROM  PAK  NAM  PO  TO  RAHENG       6l 

trees  of  the  Bombay  Burmah  Company's  com- 
pound. Part  of  the  time  the  shadows  lay  so  that 
our  chairs  were  beside  the  river  path,  which  seems 
to  be  the  principal  highway.  Not  a  person  passed 
us  without  bowing  his  head  and  bending  his  knees 
almost  to  a  crouch,  even  those  with  loads  upon 
their  shoulders.  Both  Siamese  and  Laos  have 
great  veneration  for  authority,  and  it  is  etiquette  to 
never  allow  their  heads  to  pass  above  the  head  of 
an  equal  or  superior.  They  do  this  so  easily  and 
gracefully  that  it  is  a  becoming  custom. 

I  have  enjoyed  watching  elephants  work  the  long 
teak-tree  trunks  into  rafts.  I  did  not  believe  be- 
fore all  that  I  had  heard  of  their  sagacity.  But  it 
is  every  word  true  and  more.  I  was  amused  by  a 
baby  elephant.  He  walked  beside  his  mother  with 
his  little  trunk  around  a  log  as  was  hers,  apparently 
feeling  that  he  was  helping.  He  seemed  to  be  full 
of  mischief,  and  afforded  merriment  for  the  natives, 
as  well  as  for  us. 

Wednesday. — Our  boat  dipped  water  last  night, 
and  how  much  damage  is  done  we  cannot  tell,  but 
we  are  now  tied  up  to  a  sand  bar,  with  the  crew 
unloading  our  boxes.  It  will  be  over  two  weeks 
before  we  reach  Lakawn,  and  if  any  of  our  goods 
are  wet  they  will  be  ruined  with  mildew  before  then. 
It  was  with  full  hearts  that  we  saw  the  Chieng  Mai 
boats  pull  away  and  leave  us,  for  we  will  not  see 
them  again,  as  we  turn  off  into  the  Me  Wang,  just 
above  Raheng.  W —  and  I  will  be  alone  now  until 
we  reach  Lakawn.  I  am  glad  we  like  our  captain 
so  well  and  are  on  such  friendly  terms  with  our 


62  THE    LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

crew.  Our  flotilla  is  now  reduced  to  three  boats, 
our  own  passenger  boat  and  two  freight  boats  con- 
taining goods  for  the  Lakawn  missionaries.  The 
freight  boats  are  like  the  passenger  boats,  only 
smaller,  requiring  three  polemen  and  having  no 
cabin  at  the  rear. 

Later. — Very  little  damage  was  done,  excepting 
to  my  box  of  chemicals  and  paper  for  photographic 
work.  W —  thinks  that  I  can  get  Mr.  Dodd's  sup- 
ply, as  his  is  useless  without  his  camera.  I  have 
heard,  "Tis  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  any 
good!" 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  END  OF  THE  JOURNEY 

NOVEMBER  i6TH.  On  the  Me  Wang. — This 
stream  is  much  smaller  than  the  Me  Ping,  and  is 
more  tortuous  in  its  course.  Our  evenings  are 
wonderfully  pleasant,  as  we  can  indulge  in  the  lux- 
ury of  sitting  up  awhile  after  dark,  for  the  mos- 
quitoes and  flying  insects  trouble  us  but  little  now. 
Until  recently  they  would  swarm  as  soon  as  our 
lamp  was  lighted. 

We  have  just  passed  a  wat.  A  number  of 
monks  were  on  the  bank  shaving  the  heads  of  sev- 
eral boys  who  were  entering  the  order.  Since 
leaving  Pak  Nam  Po  we  have  not  seen  so  many 
monks  as  we  saw  below  that  place.  For  the  first 
two  weeks  they  were  to  be  seen  everywhere  at  all 
times  of  the  day,  especially,  though,  in  the  early 
morning  hours,  when  they  would  go  forth  from 
their  wats  in  tiny  boats  from  house  to  house,  would 
hold  out  their  bowls  and  receive  into  them  several 
spoonfuls  of  rice  from  the  women  who  had  been 
watching  and  waiting  for  them.  This  is  merit  on 
the  part  of  the  woman,  so  the  monk  neither  bows 
his  head  nor  speaks  a  word  of  appreciation,  for  it 
is  kindness  on  his  part  to  allow  a  woman  to  make 
merit  upon  him. 

Monday  Morning. — We  see  elephants  constantly. 
They  go  up  and  down  the  river,  pushing  stranded 

63 


64  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH     SIAM 

logs  into  the  stream  again,  and  breaking  jams. 
With  their  drivers  perched  upon  their  heads  they 
make  a  picturesque  scene,  especially  when  heavy 
jungle  growth  forms  the  background.  All  day 
yesterday  they  worked  about  us.  We  had  to 
observe  our  Sabbath  in  the  midst  of  everyday 
life  and  occupations,  as,  indeed,  have  all  of  our 
Sabbaths  been,  excepting  the  one  spent  upon  the 
island. 

I  had  a  touch  of  fever  yesterday,  and  had  to  lie 
down  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  but  I'  was  able  to 
sit  up  through  the  morning  service,  which  the 
Christians  of  our  crew  conducted.  Many  villagers 
gathered  and  remained  long  after  service  to  talk 
of  this,  to  them,  new  religion.  The  Christians 
seem  to  find  their  greatest  joy  in  talking  to  their 
fellow-countrymen  about  the  "Jesus  religion."  In 
the  cool  of  the  afternoon  I  felt  better,  as  I  was  free 
from  fever,  so  W —  and  I  walked  out  into  the  vil- 
lage. It  is  somewhat  like  Raheng  in  being  a  mix- 
ture of  the  two  peoples,  but  the  Laos  now  predom- 
inate, and  we  noted  many  changes  in  ways  and 
customs.  The  women  were  beating  out  rice  from 
the  paddy,  but  unlike  the  Siamese  who  use  a  hand 
mortar  and  pestle,  they  have  a  very  convenient  ar- 
rangement of  mortar  and  long  hammer-like  pestle 
which  can  be  worked  with  the  foot.  We  passed  a 
woman  who  was  in  the  first  stages  of  leprosy.  She 
begged  us  for  medicines  to  heal,  but  we  were  pow- 
erless to  help.  If  this  people  were  as  eager  to  be 
rid  of  their  spiritual  sorrows  and  diseases  as  they 
are  of  their  physical,  it  would  not  be  long  before  the 


THE    END     OF    THE    JOURNEY  65 

whole  land  would  be  cleansed  and  healed  by  the 
touch  of  the  Great  Physician.  Fiat  lux. 

Under  a  house  near  by  was  a  loom,  at  which  sat 
a  Laos  woman.  Beside  her  a  young  girl  was  spin- 
ning, and  within  touch  of  her  crouched  an  old 
woman  seeding  cotton  by  means  of  a  tiny  hand  gin. 
It  consisted  chiefly  of  two  rollers  which  were  turned 
by  a  crank;  these  caught  the  lint  and  tore  it  from 
the  seed,  which  was  left  behind.  It  looked  very 
much  like  a  crude  clothes-wringer.  On  a  scaffold 
in  the  sun,  cotton  was  drying,  and  near  by  it  was 
packed  into  large  hampers  for  spinning.  In  the 
yard  were  dye  pots  and  from  a  rattan  rope  hung 
many  hanks  of  yarn  newly  dyed  in  bright  orange, 
blue,  purple,  and  brown.  One  of  the  girl's  hands 
was  horribly  stained  by  the  dye.  The  yard  about 
the  house  was  well  kept,  and  a  large  fruit  grove 
stood  to  one  side.  On  the  veranda  were  pots  filled 
with  flowers  which  were  blooming  beautifully. 
Upon  the  richly-loaded  orange  trees  I  saw  ripe 
fruit,  blooms,  and  buds.  I  asked  if  the  buds  would 
mature,,  and  the  woman  said,  yes,  if  the  tree  was 
watered  during  the  dry  season.  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  this  industrious  family  were  Laos,  and  that 
there  were  many  such  in  the  village. 

Monday  Evening. — We  have  passed  a  stupid  day, 
as  both  W —  and  I  are  full  of  quinine.  We  both 
have  fever  now.  One's  physical  condition  surely 
has  much  to  do  with  their  impressions  when  travel- 
ing. I  have  never  been  especially  attracted  to  the 
half-savage  dogs  of  Siam,  but  have  given  them  little 
thought  one  way  or  another.  However,  to-day 
5 


66  THE     LAOS     OF    NORTH     SIAM 

they  have  sprung  into  giants  and  have  become 
legion,  and  whenever  our  boat  touches  the  bank 
they  come  down  to  the  water's  edge  and  snarl, 
growl,  bark,  and  fight.  Such  voices!  Our  captain 
assures  us  that  we  have  seen  unusually  few  to-day. 
The  glare  of  the  noonday  sun,  naked  children  and 
bare  bodies  of  men,  unkept  streets  and  yards,  the 
barnyards  beneath  houses,  with  the  necessarily  ac- 
companying fumes,  the  incessant  betel-chewing 
and  smoking,  the  loathsome  sight  of  lepers  and 
women  with  immense  goiters;  men,  women,  and 
children  all  crouched  in  the  sun,  shivering  with 
chills  and  fevers;  the  jargon  of  an  unknown  tongue, 
and  eyes  everywhere  staring  straight  at  me,  as 
though  I  were  a  monkey  in  a  cage,  all  these  things 
depress  and  weigh  upon  me  as  though  I  should 
suffocate.  W —  says  that  he  is  affected  in  the 
same  way  by  them.  The  sun  is  now  setting.  I 
had  hoped  we  would  stop  in  the  woods,  but  we 
cannot  escape  the  villages.  I  dread  the  night  with 
the  dogs.  Last  night,  either  dogs  were  barking 
or  cocks  crowing  all  night.  A  cock  in  our  coop 
was  as  impudent  as  could  be.  I  had  Muan  make 
him  into  soup  for  dinner. 

Tuesday  Afternoon. — Fever  and  quinine!  Sun 
glare  and  dogs  and  eyes! 

Thursday.— The  mountains!  Fever  is  gone! 
Deo  gratias. 

Tuesday. — What  shall  I  say?  Words  fail  me.  I 
have  not  written  in  my  journal  for  several  days,  as 
I  have  had  no  patience  with  my  pen,  and  even  now 
it  seems  cold  and  indifferent  to  my  thoughts. 


THE    END    OF    THE    JOURNEY  67 

These  noble  mountains  piled  up  so  high  are  the 
natural  and  political  boundary  between  Siam  and 
Laos.  The  river  narrows  at  the  passes  and  tumbles 
downwards  over  rocks  and  bowlders  in  a  mad  rush 
to  meet  the  level  below,  where  it  widens  out  again 
and  becomes  passive.  There  were  some  thirty  of 
these  rapids,  all  of  which  thrills  one  with  awe.  At 
the  smaller  ones  the  men  bent  to  their  poles  and  by 
great  strength  and  skill  pushed  the  stubborn  boat 
upward.  At  the  larger  ones,  the  crews  of  the  three 
boats  united  and  by  the  triple  power  the  boat  was 
got  up.  But  at  the  largest  and  swiftest  ones,  we 
were  asked  to  land  and  lighten  the  boats  that  much, 
while  a  long,  strong  rope  was  firmly  tied  to  the  bow 
of  the  boat,  by  means  of  which  it  was  dragged  up. 
This  was  hard,  tedious,  and  slow  work,  and  only 
one  boat  could  go  through  at  a  time.  The  cap- 
tain's skill  is  very  manifest  here,  and  the  muscles 
of  his  body  rise  up  like  cords.  One  false  turn  of 
the  rudder  on  his  part  and  the  boat  is  dashed  to 
pieces.  In  some  of  the  rapids  we  noticed  that  the 
pass  between  bowlders  hidden  only  a  few  inches 
beneath  the  water's  surface  was  only  sufficiently 
wide  to  admit  the  passage  of  the  boats.  When  we 
were  forced  to  land  we  enjoyed  the  climb  up  the 
mountain's  side,  and  the  walk  in  the  unbroken 
forest  around  the  rapids.  We  found  few  flowers, 
but  the  forest  growth  was  heavy  and  luxuriant. 
We  came  across  several  snake  skins.  One  meas- 
ured eight  feet.  In  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the 
mountain  wilds,  I  wound  this  skin  around  the  brim 
of  my  hat,  letting  it  fall  in  streamers  behind.  Our 


68  THE     LAOS     OF     NORTH     SIAM 

captain  afterwards  informed  me  that  it  was  ex- 
tremely "good  luck"  to  find  such  a  skin  and  wear 
it.  Wild  chickens  of  a  small  breed  abound.  Pea- 
cocks and  parrots  and  other  rich-plumaged  birds 
are  abundant.  One  bird,  shaped  like  a  swallow, 
only  larger,  is  of  a  brilliant  blue  color,  and  skims 
the  water  like  a  gull.  We  have  picked  up  some 
very  beautiful  shells,  larger  than  one's  hand,  and 
lined  exquisitely  with  mother-of-pearl. 

We  sleep  under  blankets,  and  the  days  are  fresh 
and  bracing.  The  mornings  are  really  cold.  We 
wrap  ourselves  snugly  in  coat  and  jacket,  and  I 
add  my  shawl.  Often  W —  pulls  out  his  steamer 
rug,  too.  We  eat  our  hot  breakfast  and  are  still 
cold.  A  fire  would  be  acceptable.  Yet  our  pole- 
men  wear  but  their  one  garment.  A  few  have 
donned  a  gauze  shirt;  but  the  first  time  they  get 
it  wet,  off  it  must  come.  They  say  nao,  nao,  "cold, 
cold,"  but  they  do  not  appear  as  cold  as  we  feel. 
They  plunge  into  the  stream  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning,  to  warm  themselves,  as  they  express  it, 
and  the  water  is  like  ice  to  the  touch.  When  we 
stop  for  rest  they  at  once  wrap  a  blanket  about 
themselves. 

Wednesday. — The  mountains  are  now  behind  us, 
and  the  stream  is  becoming  very  low.  Yesterday 
and  to-day  our  crew  spent  much  of  their  time  in 
the  water,  pushing  the  boat  off  sand  bars  into  the 
narrow  channel.  At  times,  there  appears  to  be  no 
channel.  Our  hearts  are  stirred  with  strange 
thoughts,  as  we  realize  that  at  last,  after  three 
months  of  constant  travel,  we  are  nearing  our  des- 


THE    END    OF    THE    JOURNEY  69 

tination,  and  that  even  now  we  are  in  Laos-land, 
and  are  among  the  people  to  whom  we  have  conse- 
crated our  lives. 

The  river  has  already  left  much  of  its  bed  dry, 
and  the  natives  have  utilized  it  for  garden  spots, 
planting  principally  cucumbers  and  mustard.  The 
soil  must  be  exceedingly  rich,  judging  from  the 
luxuriant  growth  it  brings  forth  with  so  little  culti- 
vation. Every  morning  and  evening  men  and 
women  water  these  gardens  by  using  a  scoop  at- 
tached to  the  end  of  a  bamboo  pole  about  as  long 
as  a  broom  handle.  They  stand  in  the  river  and 
toss  the  water  upon  the  beds.  A  man  and  woman 
are  now  wading  across  the  river  in  front  of  our 
boat,  and  in  the  deepest  place  the  water  barely 
comes  to  the  woman's  waist. 

How  these  people  love  the  water!  We  see  bath- 
ers all  day  long.  The  women  come  down  to  the 
water,  step  in,  and  before  our  very  eyes,  by  a  quick 
movement  raise  the  skirt  to  the  head,  twirl  it  around 
so  as  to  form  a  turban,  and  drop  into  the  water. 
The  thing  is  done  so  deftly  and  so  quickly  that  the 
only  impression  received  is  a  blurred  vision.  The 
little  girls  leave  their  skirts  on  the  bank  and  skurry 
down  like  ducks. 

If  I  could  make  a  book  of  my  journal  I  could 
probably  tell  half  of  the  things  I  see  and  hear  in- 
stead of  the  scattering  few.  But  I  must  not  con- 
tinue to  neglect  speaking  of  reed-blowing.  The 
reeds  are  in  sets,  and  are  made  with  holes  like  a 
flute  and  a  mouthpiece  similar  to  that  of  a  flageolet. 
There  are  several  sets  among  our  crew,  and  on 


70  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH     SIAM 

moonlight  evenings — since  we  have  left  the  droves 
of  mosquitoes — our  men  sit  on  the  sand  bars  and 
blow  them.  The  various  sizes  and  lengths  of  the 
reeds  govern  the  pitch,  and  when  a  sufficient  num- 
ber is  used,  the  combination  makes  a  curious  reed 
organ,  which  is  smooth  and  mellow  and  plaintive 
in  sound,  withal,  exceeding  pleasing,  even  if  tinged 
with  a  sweet  sadness.  The  range  of  the  organ  is 
limited  and  the  musicians  go  over  and  over  the 
same  strains,  apparently  having  few  tunes.  We 
have  come  to  love  this  soft,  tuneful  music  and  are 
glad  in  the  evening  hour  to  see  the  men  drawing 
from  the  freight  cabin  their  reeds.  The  tranquil 
stars  above,  the  calm  night  about  us,  and  then, 
along  the  bank,  "the  dulcet  measures  float  in  many 
a  liquid  winding  note/' 

While  in  the  rapids  we  came  one  morning  to  a 
standstill,  as  before  us  there  arose  forbiddingly  a 
log  jam,  apparently  containing  hundreds  of  logs. 
W —  looked  at  the  captain  inquiringly,  who  touched 
his  ears  and  pointed  toward  the  jungles  with  a 
nod.  We  listened,  and  softly  came  through  the 
trees  the  soft  tinkle  of  several  brass  bells.  In  a 
few  minutes  an  elephant  pushed  through  the  un- 
broken jungle  growth  and  was  shortly  followed 
by  some  four  or  five  others.  They  all  walked 
slowly  and  sedately  toward  the  jam  into  the  water, 
and  some  above  and  others  below  the  jam,  they  be- 
gan work.  In  less  than  twenty  minutes  by  the 
watch,  the  jam  was  broken  and  the  logs  were  float- 
ing downstream.  It  was  to  us  wonderful  to  see 
with  what  ease  an  elephant  would  tighten  his  trunk 


THE    END    OF    THE    JOURNEY  71 

about  a  log  and  send  it  off  swiftly  downstream. 
They  seemed  to  know  exactly  the  right  spot  in  the 
jam  to  weaken  in  order  to  break  the  general  sup- 
port. I  was  interested  to  see  how  skillful  the  ele- 
phants were  in  turning  away  floating  logs,  which 
threatened  to  crush  them.  The  drivers  on  the  ele- 
phants' heads  gave  few  orders,  as  the  huge  beasts 
seem  to  understand  perfectly. 

Thursday  Morning,  November  2pth.  Thanksgiving 
Day. — We  are  nearing  Lakawn.  Our  captain  says 
we  will  be  there  this  afternoon.  How  fitting  that 
this  is  Thanksgiving  day! 

Last  night  we  stopped  at  a  sand  bar  beside  a 
large  and  prosperous  village,  which  our  captain 
said,  with  evident  pleasure,  was  Lampang  Kang. 
We  knew  from  him  that  he  had  acquaintances  in 
the  village,  and  that  there  were  a  few  Christians 
there,  but  we  were  not  prepared  for  the  surprise 
that  awaited  us.  After  supper  W —  waded  to  the 
sand  bar,  as  the  water  was  so  shallow  our  boats 
could  not  touch  the  bank,  and  two  men  carried  me 
out  in  a  chair.  We  always  have  prayers  ashore 
when  possible.  I  saw  that  there  were  strangers 
in  the  group,  but  that  is  the  usual  thing.  Imagine 
my  surprise  when,  before  I  was  out  of  the  chair, 
they  pressed  forward  and,  grasping  my  hands,  ex- 
claimed, "Ah,  Me  Ku,  sabai  ka,  saba'i  ka?"  And 
in  the  moonlight  I  saw  bright,  earnest  faces,  with 
a  look  of  welcome,  that  did  my  heart  good.  W — 
had  stopped  to  speak  to  one  of  the  men,  but  he 
then  came  up  and  we  sat  down  to  talk  as  best  we 
could  with  them.  The  group  consisted  of  two 


72  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH     SIAM 

grown  men,  one  elderly  woman,  a  middle-aged  one, 
two  young  women,  and  a  little  girl.  These  were 
the  first  middle-aged  women  I  had  seen  who  had 
good,  bright,  happy  faces.  Among  other  things, 
they  told  us  how  glad  they  were  to  be  the  first  to 
welcome  us  to  the  land  of  the  Laos.  They  had 
feared  that  we  might  slip  by  in  the  daytime,  when 
they  were  busy  at  work,  without  their  seeing  us. 
We  found  out  their  names  and  their  relation  one 
to  another,  and  learned  that  Mr.  Taylor  often  comes 
down  to  visit  them,  spending  several  days  at  a  time 
teaching  and  preaching.  The  girls  said,  with 
pleased  looks,  that  they  had  been  to  school  in 
Lakawn  to  Miss  Fleeson,  and  that  she  had  taught 
them  "many  things."  They  also  told  us  that  on 
every  Communion  Sunday  they  walked  up  to 
Lakawn  to  church  service.  I  glanced  at  the  old 
woman,  and  she  nodded,  and  said,  "Yes,  she  went, 
too."  She  then  asked  me  if  I  had  known  Mrs. 
Taylor  when  we  were  in  the  "Outside  world" 
together.  I  had  to  say  "No,"  and  at  a  glance  I 
saw  that  she  thought  that  I  had  missed  half  of 
life.  She  repeated  her  name  and  said  something 
which  we  could  not  understand,  but  the  language 
of  the  face  and  eyes  expressed  love  and  admiration. 
All  of  the  group  nodded  emphatically  at  her  words, 
and  signified  hearty  approval. 

But  the  evening  was  slipping  away  and  we  were 
forced  reluctantly  to  bring  it  to  a  close  by  having 
evening  prayers.  We  saw  with  pleasure  that  sev- 
eral of  the  little  group  had  brought  their  hymn 
books  and  Bibles  along.  We  had  a  delightful 


THE    END    OF    THE    JOURNEY  73 

service,  the  women  in  their  turn  reading  the  Scrip- 
ture lesson,  and  doing  so  as  well  as  the  men.  After 
the  closing  hymn,  one  of  the  maidens  pulled  out  a 
rough  yellow  booklet  from  her  Bible,  and  with  an 
air  of  triumph  showed  it  to  our  captain.  He  cried 
out  with  joy  and  began  excitedly  to  explain  to  us 
that  it  was  a  few  proof  sheets  of  the  new  Laos  hymn 
book.  How  eagerly  and  joyfully  we  looked  over 
those  pages!  As  we  glanced  up,  the  dark  eyes 
around  us  were  fairly  beaming  with  joy  and  pride. 
The  longed-for  hymn  book  was  now  to  be  a 
reality,  and  the  old  Siamese  copies  could  be  dis- 
carded. No  more  struggling  now  over  Siamese 
characters  in  order  to  read  hymns,  but  each  person 
could  have  a  book  in  his  own  tongue.  No  wonder 
we  were  all  so  happy  and  thankful.  W —  handed 
the  sheets  back  to  the  women,  asking  them  to  sing. 
They  at  once  complied,  and  sweetly  rose  the  song, 
"I  Need  Thee  Every  Hour."  Through  the  mist 
that  gathered  I  could  hardly  see  the  faces  about 
me,  and  thoughts  crowded  in,  and  before  me  came 
all  the  millions  of  souls  in  this  land  that  never  raise 
their  voices  to  God  in  song  or  prayer,  and  do  not 
grow  old  beautifully  as  do  these  Christians,  and 
who  have  neither  the  hope  nor  the  peace  that  is 
theirs;  and  the  words  as  they  fell  had  a  deeper 
meaning  than  ever  before,  an  added  sweetness. 

But  we  are  nearing  the  city,  and  we  must  prepare 
to  leave  the  boat.  This  little  six-by-seven  was  very 
strange  to  us  six  weeks  ago,  but  now  it  is  as  an 
old  friend,  and  we  step  from  it  out  into  the  un- 
known future. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FACE  OF  LAOS-LAND 

LAKAWN  is  situated  geographically  to  the  south 
of  the  center  of  the  Siamo^Laos  provinces,  at  the 
intersection  of  some  of  the  great  roads  of  the 
country.  These  roads  are  not  worthy  of  the  term 
as  we  know  the  name,  for  in  the  main  they  are  but 
footpaths,  made  by  the  constant  passing  of  men 
and  cattle  and  elephant  trains.  They  are  very  tor- 
tuous, for  rather  than  remove  undergrowth  or  build 
a  bridge  the  Laos  will  swing  several  miles  from 
their  course.  When  a  stream  is  reached  it  must 
be  forded.  During  the  rainy  season  a  traveler 
often  gets  weather-bound  between  two  streams, 
which  have  risen  too  high  to  ford,  and  are  too  bold 
to  swim.  I  have  many  times  known  of  mail  car- 
riers being  thus  delayed  for  several  weeks.  In 
such  a  case  there  is  but  one  thing  to  do — sit  down 
and  wait  for  the  water  to  fall.  This  condition  of 
roads  does  not  imply  a  total  lack  of  bridges.  There 
are  a  few  here  and  there.  Usually  they  are  made 
by  felling  trees,  squaring  their  trunks,  and  letting 
two  or  more  run  parallel  and  closely  together  across 
the  stream  or  gorge.  I  knew  of  one  gentleman,  an 
Englishman  by  birth,  who  came  to  such  a  bridge 
which,  however,  had  not  been  made  closely 
together.  He  started  across  astride  of  his  pony, 
but  halfway  over  the  pony  beneath  him  decided  to 
74  ' 


THE    FACE    OF    LAOS-LAND  75 

try  the  other  tree  trunk,  and  before  he  knew  what 
was  up,  our  hero  found  himself  wildly  striving  to 
balance  his  body  as  he  stood  a  la  Colossus  of 
Rhodes.  When  he  thought  to  look  down  for  his 
pony  he  beheld  him  mildly  cropping  grass  in  the 
ravine  below.  Recently  ten-yard  wide  government 
roads  have  been  built  to  connect  some  of  the  large 
cities,  and  there  is  a  promise  of  better  things  for  the 
future. 

Roughly  speaking,  the  country  inhabited  by  the 
Yuan  Laos  is  an  immense  plateau,  interlaced  with 
mountain  chains,  which  naturally  divide  the  coun- 
try into  provinces.  It  is  well  watered  by  rivers 
which,  flowing  southward  at  Pak  Nam  Po,  form 
the  great  Me  Nam.  To  the  far  north  the  streams 
flow  to  the  east  of  north,  emptying  into  the  proud 
Me  Kawng.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  land  of 
the  Laos  is  made  up  of  mountain  and  plain  and 
valley,  having,  for  the  tropics,  a  wide  range  of 
climate  and  great  diversity  of  products.  Owing 
to  the  tropical  heat,  abundant  rainfall,  and  annual 
overflow  of  rivers,  it  is  a  very  fertile  country,  in- 
deed. A  little  scratching  of  the  soil  and  dropping 
of  seeds  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  insure  a  harvest. 
In  places,  the  jungles,  deep  and  unbroken,  lie  bask- 
ing in  the  sunshine,  protecting  the  hoards  of  wild 
beasts  and  creatures  that  there  make  their  homes. 
In  striking  contrast,  stretch  the  sunny  rice  plains 
and  the  tempting  fruit  groves.  But  always,  every- 
where, there  is  teeming  life,  animal  and  vegetable, 
on  land  and  in  the  water.  The  villages  and  cities 
are  all  gathered  about  the  banks  of  the  water 


76  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

courses,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  people 
live  close  to  nature,  leaning  upon  her  for  support, 
and  so  gather  about  the  streams  where  water  can 
be  had  in  abundance  during  even  the  long,  hot,  dry 
season  of  some  six  months. 

Although  wholly  within  the  tropics,  the  climate 
is  not  so  hot  as  that  of  southern  India,  and  it  is 
altogether  free  from  the  hot  winds  which  scourge 
that  land.  The  year  is  divided  into  two  seasons, 
namely,  the  rainy  and  the  dry.  The  rainy  season 
commences  with  the  southwest  monsoons,  about 
the  last  of  April.  It  does  not  necessarily  rain 
every  day,  but  usually  there  is  a  hard  shower  of  one 
or  two  hours'  length,  preceded  by  a  scurry  of  wind 
that  is  delightfully  refreshing  after  the  months  of 
sun  and  heat.  Oftentimes  it  rains  steadily  for  sev- 
eral days,  and  occasionally  several  weeks  of  almost 
constant  rain  causes  floods,  which  are  very  de- 
structive to  vegetable  life.  I  have  known  whole 
fruit  groves  and  gardens  to  be  thus  entirely  swept 
away.  Toward  November  the  wind  veers  round 
to  the  northeast,  and  sweeps  away  from  the  sky 
the  rain  clouds.  Then  for  six  weeks  there  is 
ideal  weather.  The  breeze  is  fresh  and  the  nights 
are  so  cool  that  a  fire  to  dress  and  breakfast  by  is 
enjoyable,  though  the  thermometer  seldom  drops 
below  55°.  The  land  carols  with  the  songs  of  birds, 
the  orange  hangs  golden,  nestled  in  the  fragrance 
of  blossoms  upon  the  same  mother  tree. 

".  .  .  red-ripe  as  can  be, 

Pomegranates  are  chapping  and  splitting  in  halves 
on  the  tree," 


THE    FACE    OF    LAOS-LAND  77 

and  the  lotus  coquettes  with  the  palms  above  and 
the  reflection  beneath.  It  is  the  glad  harvest  sea- 
son, and  the  yellow  grain  hangs  heavy,  awaiting 
the  reaper's  scythe.  The  rains  are  passed,  but  na- 
ture revives  her  own  by  a  nightly  visit  of  dew, 
which  equals  a  light  shower.  After  this  golden 
season  of  the  year  the  winds  veer  to  the  south,  and 
before  one  is  aware  the  heat  becomes  intense.  The 
river  has  become  a  thread;  and  life  is  barely  endur- 
able from  noontime  until  the  evening  shadows 
lengthen.  So  parched  has  the  ground  become  that 
the  mere  hopping  of  a  disconsolate  bird  across  the 
road  causes  a  flurry  of  dust.  There  is  no  vegetable 
life,  save  that  which  is  artificially  watered  or  that 
which  is  "planted  beside  the  rivers  of  water,  whose 
leaf  also  doth  not  wither."  February,  March,  and 
April  are  the  most  dreaded  months,  though  the 
sickly  season  is  delayed  until  the  first  rain  falls, 
which  are  more  or  less  scattering.  These  are  not 
sufficient  to  wash  away  the  refuse  of  the  villages, 
but  instead  causes  decomposition  and  a  multitude 
of  fumes.  Fever  is  the  inevitable  result,  so  that 
the  last  of  April,  May,  and  June  are  known  as  the 
sickly  season.  The  degree  of  the  oppressiveness 
of  the  heat  depends  much  upon  the  altitude.  For 
this  reason  the  more  northern  cities,  such  as  Chieng 
Rai,  are  much  cooler  and  more  healthful. 

Some  one  has  laughingly  said  that  one  of  the 
chief  summer  problems  of  life  in  Hong  Kong  is  to 
determine  whether  the  mushrooms  which  grow  on 
one's  shoes  at  night  are  edible  or  not.  This  sounds 
like  gross  exaggeration,  but  truly  the  damp  is  in- 


78  THE     LAOS     OF     NORTH     SIAM 

describable,  not  only  in  Hong  Kong,  but  in  Laos- 
land  as  well.  It  is  not  advisable  to  don  a  suit  of 
underwear  in  the  morning  that  was  the  least  bit 
damp  with  perspiration  the  night  before,  for  the 
second  state  is  worse  than  the  first.  One  may  walk 
about  the  house  even  an  hour  after  dawn  and  see 
the  moisture  forming  in  beads  upon  the  walls  and 
furniture  and  trickling  downward.  I  have  many 
times  wrung  water  from  my  tent  curtain  in  touring. 
Capsules  and  pills  must  be  kept  in  tightly-corked 
bottles,  with  a  piece  of  absorbent  cotton  in  the  top. 
Books  ought  to  be  taken  from  the  shelves  and 
carefully  wiped  every  few  weeks  during  the  damp 
season,  or  else  they  will  horribly  mildew. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  fairer  inland  coun- 
try than  Laos-land.  Nature  is  lavish  of  her  fruits, 
flowers,  and  verdure.  Every  place  that  would 
otherwise  be  barren  or  unattractive  she  festoons 
with  vines.  The  scenery  of  mountain  and  river  is 
as  beautiful  as  that  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Hudson 
of  our  own  country.  The  rapids  are  bold  and 
grand.  Those  of  the  Me  Ping  leading  to  Chieng 
Mai  are  unsurpassed  in  interest.  Of  them  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Davidson  College:  "I 
doubt  very  much  whether  there  is  another  road  of 
forty  miles  in  the  earth's  surface  having  such  uni- 
versally beautiful  and  magnificent  scenery  as  where 
the  river  breaks  between  these  mountains."  The 
rapids  of  the  river  leading  to  Nan  are  much  bolder, 
and  usually  boats  have  to  be  unloaded  at  them,  and 
their  goods  carried  around  on  the  shoulders  of  men, 
while  the  boats  are  dragged  up.  In  the  down- 


THE     FACE     OF     LAOS-LAND  79 

stream  trip  "shooting"  the  rapids  is  exciting  and 
dangerous.  In  1898,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples,  who 
were  then  alone  in  Nan,  found  that  they  had  to 
bring  their  sick  child  to  America,  as  the  only  hope 
of  saving  his  life.  They  had  to  shoot  the  Nan 
river  rapids  during  a  flood  season.  Of  that  ex- 
perience Mrs.  Peoples  wrote  as  follows: — 

"The  morning  of  our  last  day  in  Nan  arrived 
bleak  with  .rain.  The  day  before  a  procession  of 
Christian  men  and  women  filed  in  at  the  gate,  bear- 
ing their  parting  gifts;  a  pet  chicken,  a  few  eggs, 
vegetables,  from  their  tiny  garden,  fruit,  flowers — 
just  what  they  could  bring,  with  love  and  tears. 
To  each  of  their  houses  we  had  gone  for  a  last 
prayer  together  and  last  words,  few  but  fraught 
with  meaning  to  their  hearts  and  ours,  for  we  were 
leaving  them  like  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 
'Don't  forget  us/  'Be  faithful  to  your  Christian 
vows/  'We  can't  forget,  pray  for  us,  Paw  Liang, 
Me  Liang!  Down  the  slippery  bank  into  the  little 
canoes  we  crawled;  room  to  sit,  or  go  on  hands 
and  knees  only,  for  the  next  week.  A  bend  in 
the  river  shut  from  our  eyes  the  lonely  group 
watching  us,  and  we  lean  hard  upon  their  Strength 
and  ours. 

"Daylight  of  the  next  morning,  and  a  hail  from 
the   village:    'You   cannot  pass   the   rapids,   Paw 


'  'Is  there  not  a  pilot  who  will  take  us  through 
for  double  pay?  I  must  take  my  sick  child 
on/ 

"  'No.     Last  year  a  boat  with  seven  men  tried 


8O  THE     LAOS     OF     NORTH     SIAM 

to  shoot  the  rapids  at  high  water  and  all  were  lost. 
Life  is  better  than  money.' 

"We  decided  to  push  on  and  see  the  rapids.  The 
first  one  is  passed  unnoticed,  completely  sub- 
merged. The  rain  is  falling  in  torrents,  the  cap- 
tain stands  upon  the  head  of  the  canoe  stripped  to 
the  waistcloth,  a  twelve-foot  bamboo  pole  balanced 
in  his  hand  ready  to  sheer  away  from  dangerous 
rocks,  silent,  vigilant,  unmindful  of  the  pitiless  rain, 
although  his  lips  are  blue  and  the  frail  craft  often 
quivers  with  the  spasm  of  cold  that  shakes  him. 
The  turbid  river  has  no  confines  now.  Old  land- 
marks are  obliterated,  our  tiny  canoes  seeming  a 
few  pieces  of  driftwood  on  its  seething  bosom. 
Soon  the  tossing  waves  and  hoarse  roar  of  Kang 
Luang  is  ahead,  and  slowly  we  creep  along  the  side, 
where  half-submerged  trees  threaten  to  rake  us  off; 
and  then  with  paddles  flying  for  dear  life,  we  dash 
down  the  swift  incline  until  we  strike  the  outer  rim 
of  the  huge  whirlpool,  when,  with  marvelous  skill, 
the  boats  are  swung  round  and  headed  upstream, 
for  a  brief  rest.  In  a  moment  more  we  find  our- 
selves safe,  for  the  time,  among  trees  upon  the 
mountain  side. 

"Then  we  pushed  on.  We  found  the  'thousand  wa 
rapid' — two  thousand  yards — was  a  swift  descent 
of  roaring,  tumbling,  foam-crested  waves,  that  cast 
high  breakers  upon  the  half-buried  mountain  rice 
fields,  green  with  young  grain.  Six  days  and 
nights  we  were  in  these  tempests  of  waters,  then 
out  of  the  mountain-inclosed  channel  into  the 
broad  waters  at  Ta  It  we  glide,  the  seventh  day, 


THE    FACE    OF    LAOS-LAND  8 1 

thankful  to  climb  from  our  cramped  quarters  into 
the  larger  boat." 

In  the  mountains  abound  beautiful  and  rare  ferns, 
from  the  delicate  maidenhair  to  tall  fronds,  some 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high.  I  was  especially  at- 
tracted to  a  delicate  fern  whose  under  side  of  leaves 
was  a  silvery  white.  Orchids  brighten  the  ground 
and  hang  from  the  trees.  Some  of  them  are 
smaller  than  a  snowdrop,  while  others  are  larger 
than  a  tulip.  They  are  all  shades,  from  a  pure 
white  to  a  gold  or  scarlet.  They  are  gathered  by 
natives  from  the  forests  during  the  months  of  April 
and  May,  and  are  carried  to  the  city  for  sale. 
Maidens  like  to  wear  the  sprays  in  their  dark  hair 
and  housekeepers  buy  the  plants  to  tie  to  the  ver- 
anda post  or  tree  in  the  yard,  where  they  thrive 
well  and  live  and  bloom.  Excepting  orchids,  few 
delicate  flowers,  such  as  our  violets,  are  found. 
Usually  the  blooms  are  large,  showy,  and  heavy 
in  perfume.  Many  plants  that  are  not  indigenous 
take  kindly  to  their  adopted  home,  and  so  one 
finds  in  the  gardens  of  missionaries  and  natives  to 
whom  they  have  given  seeds  and  plants,  many 
flowers  that  one  admires  in  an  American  garden. 
Care  and  thought  are  given  to  the  cultivation  of 
flowers,  as  they  are  much  loved  and  admired  by 
the  natives.  Almost  every  home  has  its  garden  or 
flowerpots.  Besides  adorning  the  hair  of  maidens 
and  children,  flowers  are  used  in  all  the  religious 
and  official  ceremonies.  Almost  any  man  or 
woman  one  meets  can  tell  the  names  of  most  of 
the  different  flowers,  plants,  and  trees,  and  can 
6 


82  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

also  enumerate  their  various  uses — as  for  dyes, 
oils,  and  resins  or  drugs. 

The  hot  sun  so  develops  the  cellulose  of  vege- 
tables that  they  lose  their  crispness  and  are  not 
delicate,  to  our  way  of  thinking.  A  great  variety 
of  beans,  cucumbers,  and  gourds  abounds  and  they 
are  eaten  with  much  relish  by  all.  Melons  are 
plentiful  but  inferior  in  quality.  Mustard,  garlic, 
and  pepper  are  perhaps  more  extensively  grown 
in  gardens  than  any  other  vegetable.  Onions  are 
considered  among  the  greatest  of  delicacies  and  the 
word  hawm — onion — is  synonymous  with  "fra- 
grant," rather  identical,  as,  for  instance,  a  man  will 
exclaim  upon  smelling  a  tuberose,  hawm,  and  a 
woman,  hiding  her  face  beneath  the  neck  of  her 
babe,  will  lovingly  repeat,  hawm,  hawm.  The 
sweet  potato  and  yam  abound  and  are  of  a  good 
quality  and  flavor.  Many  roots  and  leaves  of  trees 
and  vines  are  eaten  whose  English  names  I  am 
ignorant  of.  The  leaves  are  put  into  the  curry  pot 
and  stew  up  well,  garlic  and  red  pepper  giving  a 
flavor  if  it  is  lacking.  Elephant  ears  or  caladiums 
are  abundant,  and  their  starchy  roots  are  consid- 
ered as  toothsome  as  a  yam.  Indeed,  by  some  are 
more  highly  esteemed,  as  the  corms  are  a  gentle 
stimulant  and  are  diaphoretic. 

One  of  the  most  useful  plants  of  the  land  is 
known  as  curcuma,  being  a  genus  of  the  order 
Scitaminece.  There  are  several  species,  all  alike, 
having  fleshy  tuberous  roots.  These  are  cooked 
when  young  and  eaten.  In  this  state  the  rhizoma 
abounds  in  a  kind  of  arrowroot.  When  matured, 


THE     FACE     OF     LAOS-LAND  83 

it  is  very  aromatic  in  smell,  reminding  one  of  man- 
goes, and  having  properties  resembling  ginger. 
In  this  state,  it  is  finely  powdered  and  called  tumeric. 
This  tumeric  is  used  as  the  principal  ingredient  of 
curry  powder;  is  employed  as  a  medicine,  it  having 
an  eliminating  and  stimulating  effect  upon  the 
system;  mixed  with  lime,  it  forms  part  of  the 
"chew"  commonly  known  as  betel;  and  it  is  used 
as  a  dye  stuff  to  produce  shades  of  yellow  and 
golden  brown;  and,  last,  but  far  from  least,  is  em- 
ployed as  a  powder  to  dust  the  bodies  of  babies  and 
children  from  crown  to  toe,  thus  beautifying  them. 
Another  species  of  cucuma  is  known  as  zedoary. 
This  is  highly  medicinal,  being  a  most  powerful 
sudorific.  This  cucuma  is  well  known  to  Europeans 
of  India  and  the  East  Indies,  as  it  is  indigenous  to 
the  whole  sweep  of  southeast  Asia. 

In  no  clime  are  palms  more  at  home  than  in  the 
land  of  the  Laos,  and  so  one  finds  numerous 
species,  from  the  clinging  rattan  to  the  stately  pal- 
myra and  lofty  areca,  with  its  cluster  of  sweet- 
scented  blooms.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  describe 
them,  as  palms  have  become  as  familiar  to  Amer- 
icans as  the  roses  in  our  gardens.  So  we  will  con- 
fine ourselves  to  looking  at  some  of  the  uses  to 
which  they  are  put.  The  cocoanut  palm  is  eaten 
either  young  or  when  mature,  the  taste  at  the  dif- 
ferent stages  varying  greatly.  The  edible  part  of 
the  nut  is  much  used  in  the  making  of  sweet- 
meats. It  is  scraped,  steeped  in  boiling  water, 
then  strained  through  a  cloth,  and  used  as  milk. 
New  rice  is  often  boiled  in  this  milk  and  is  consid- 


84  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

ered  a  great  delicacy.  When  plucked  from  the 
tree  and  eaten,  the  cocoanut  is  a  very  different 
article  of  diet  from  what  we  know.  It  is  soft  like 
an  apple,  delicately  flavored,  and  is  so  easily  di- 
gested that  children  fatten  upon  it. 

The  sap  of  the  palm  tree  makes  a  wine  which  is 
highly  intoxicating  when  fermentetl.  This  sap 
boiled  down  makes  a  sugar,  which  is  much  es- 
teemed, and  somewhat  resembles  in  taste  our  own 
maple  sugar.  Oil  is  extracted  from  the  nuts  and 
pulp,  which  is  used  by  mothers  as  a  kind  of  cure- 
all.  Sago  is  made,  but  not  extensively.  The 
terminal  bud  is  sometimes  cut  and  boiled.  It  de- 
stroys the  tree;  so  everyone  cannot  indulge  this 
taste.  The  Ian  palm  is  famous,  as  its  dried  leaves 
are  used  as  a  substitute  for  writing  paper.  The 
words  are  written  with  a  sharp-pointed  style,  and 
over  them  powdered  charcoal  or  oil  is  passed-, 
which  remains  fixed  in  the  indented  letters,  the 
surface  then  being  rubbed  and  polished  to  a  golden 
yellow.  The  leaves  are  then  bound  into  books. 

Next  to  the  palm  the  plantain  or  banana  is  ap- 
plied to  the  greatest  number  of  uses.  Bowring 
claims  fifty  varieties  for  Siam,  and  there  should  be 
as  many  in  Laos-land.  I  have  eaten  twenty  differ- 
ent kinds,  varying  in  size  from  three  inches  to  a 
foot,  and  in  flavor  from  a  sweet  to  an  acid.  They 
form  a  very  important  part  of  the  diet  of  the  people. 
Besides  being  eaten  in  their  natural  state  they  are 
fried,  roasted,  or  made  into  cakes.  Children  when 
three  days  old  are  fed  upon  one  of  the  species. 
This  fruit,  so  soft  and  nutrious,  is  a  great  blessing 


THE     FACE     OF     LAOS-LAND  85 

to  the  aged,  and  one  can  readily  see  how  the  legend 
is  accredited  that  Allah  sent  the  plantain  to  the 
prophet  in  his  old  age,  when  he  had  become  tooth- 
less and  feeble.  It  is  one  of  the  few  fruits  that  is 
perennially  ripe.  The  green  leaves  are  employed 
for  numberless  domestic  uses,  such  as  wrapping  up 
bundles,  forming  a  cool,  fresh  mat  for  the  ground, 
and  making  an  impromptu  hat  for  use  during  a 
sudden  shower.  It  might  be  thought  that  these 
slightly-clad  people  would  not  dread  exposure  to 
the  rain,  but  they  have  a  horror  of  having  rain  fall 
upon  their  heads.  The  dried  leaves  are  used  prin- 
cipally to  roll  around  tobacco,  forming  a  cheroot. 

Excepting  a  few  perennial  fruits,  mangoes  are 
the  first  fruit  after  the  long,  dry  season.  They 
are  larger  and  finer  flavored  than  the  Siamese  man- 
goes. One  species  called  sam  pi  (three  years)  be- 
cause they  bear  the  third  year  after  planting,  are 
especially  excellent  in  both  size  and  taste.  The 
mango  trees  of  the  jungles  make  a  kind  of  ren- 
dezvous for  wild  beasts,  and  a  blind  near  such  a  tree 
is  a  most  excellent  vantage  ground  for  a  huntsman. 
The  trees  grow  as  large  as  an  elm,  and  the  fruit 
should  be  plucked  and  not  allowed  to  drop.  I  was 
once  interested  in  watching  a  scene  about  a  certain 
mango  tree  in  the  beginning  of  a  rainy  season.  A 
hard  shower  was  on,  and  at  intervals  a  skurry  of 
wind  would  bring  to  the  ground  a  dozen  or  more 
mangoes.  At  once  there  was  a  wild  rush  through 
the  rain  for  the  tree,  not  only  by  the  children 
perched  on  the  watch,  but  by  several  elderly  men 
and  women,  two  ponies,  a  pig,  and  a  group  of 


86  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

chickens.  They  all  scrambled  together  for  the 
mangoes,  and  then  retired  to  await  the  next  skurry. 
This  was  a  case  of  stolen  sweets,  for  not  one  of 
the  marauders  had  a  right  to  the  fruit. 

The  tamarind  grows  to  the  size  of  an  immense 
oak  and  lives  for  centuries.  Its  shade  is  delight- 
fully cool  and  refreshing,  and  its  fruit  is  one  of  the 
greatest  of  nature's  blessings  to  the  tropics.  The 
pod-like  fruit  is  rilled  with  a  pulp,  which  is  at  once 
acidulous  and  sweet.  Great  care  is  exercised  in 
seeding  the  pulp  and  packing  it  away  in  clay  jars 
for  use  in  curries,  and  to  make  cooling  drinks  and 
ciders,  and  to  stew  into  sauce.  It  is  medicinal,  be- 
ing a  gentle,  cooling  laxative,  and  is  much  em- 
ployed in  tropical  fevers. 

Pineapples  are  abundant  and  are  of  a  good  flavor; 
oranges  abound  in  some  dozen  or  more  varieties; 
lemons  are  not  indigenous,  but  limes  admirably 
take  their  place;  guavas  are  eaten  green  or  cooked 
or  made  into  excellent  jelly  by  foreigners;  citron, 
pomegranates,  custard  apples,  jack  fruit,  and  the 
famed  durian,  are  also  found.  Plums  in  many 
varieties  are  much  liked  by  the  natives,  but  usually 
a  foreigner  has  to  acquire  a  taste  for  them.  To 
the  north  of  the  provinces  are  found  attractive  com- 
binations of  tropical  and  temperate  fruits,  the  rasp- 
berry and  peach  being  found  among  the  latter  class. 

This  enumeration  of  fruits,  flowers,  and  plants 
does  not  claim  to  be  complete.  A  volume  dedi- 
cated to  the  subject  would  only  suffice  to  make  it 
so. 

In  the  jungles  are  found  many  valuable  kinds  of 


THE    FACE     OF     LAOS-LAND  87 

woods,  the  best  known  to  occidentals  being  the 
teak  wood.  It  is  cut  in  the  forests  by  British  tim- 
ber companies;  is  stamped  with  the  company's 
mark;  is  then  dragged  by  elephants  to  the  nearest 
stream;  floated  to  Raheng  on  the  high  water;  and 
there  claimed  by  the  company  whose  mark  is  upon 
it.  It  is  there  bound  into  rafts  and  floated  to 
Bangkok,  where  it  is  partly  sawn  and  shipped  to 
England  and  Norway,  principally  to  be  used  in 
ship  building,  as  it  is  one  of  the  few  woods  which 
does  not  warp  with  exposure  and  heat.  Besides 
teak  there  are  very  many  other  valuable  trees  in 
these  jungle  wilds,  whose  English  names  I  am  un- 
familiar with.  There  has  recently  been  formed  a 
company  which  deals  with  hard  woods  exclusive 
of  teak.  There  are  immense  resources  in  the  Laos 
country  for  such  companies. 

The  dreaded  upas  is  a  child  of  these  wilds.  The 
gamboge  of  Siam  is  known  to  be  the  highest  prized 
in  the  world's  market.  There  are  other  trees  in 
Laos  forests  yielding  valuable  gums  and  resins, 
chief  of  which  are  the  trees  that  the  lac  insect,  cocus 
lacca,  inhabits.  This  curious  hemipterous  insect  in 
some  respects  reminds  one  of  the  cochineal  insect, 
coccus  cacti.  They  puncture  the  twigs  of  the  tree 
and  soon  entomb  themselves  in  the  resinous  matter 
which  oozes  out,  and  upon  which  they  feed.  They 
lay  myriads  of  minute  eggs  and  die,  their  dead 
bodies  forming  a  dome  over  the  eggs.  The  eggs 
hatch  and  the  young  eat  their  way  through  the 
dead  bodies  and  swarm  over  the  twigs  and  young 
branches  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  the  appear- 


THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

ance  of  fine  blood-red  dust.  Successive  genera- 
tions, dwelling  upon  the  same  tree,  render  the 
twigs  heavy  in  a  coating  oftentimes  an  inch  in 
thickness.  The  natives  break  these  twigs,  which 
are  known  in  commerce  as  stick-lac,  and  which  are 
exceedingly  valuable  for  the  resinous  substance 
which  they  contain.  It  is  wrought  into  the  beauti- 
ful lacquer  ware  for  which  the  East  is  famed. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  Americans  with  their 
twentieth  century  methods  of  life  to  appreciate  to 
what  extent  bamboo  enters  into  many  phases  of 
Laos  life.  Every  part  of  the  tree  can  be  put  to 
some  use.  Its  shoots  when  young  are  made  into  a 
savory  dish,  much  resembling  asparagus  in  both 
looks  and  taste.  Its  roots,  when  tender,  are  also 
eaten.  When  grown,  its  beauty  is  such  as  to  throw 
the  poet  and  artist  into  raptures;  its  utility  of  such 
diversity  that  it  becomes  the  backbone  of  the  land. 

Bamboo  grows  in  clumps  or,  more  accurately, 
sprouts  from  a  subterranean  rhizoma  which  throws 
up  from. ten  to  one  hundred  straight  erect  stems. 
These  shoot  up  with  surprising  rapidity,  often  grow- 
ing from  one  to  two  feet  in  a  single  day.  They  grow 
to  almost  their  full  height  unbranched,  and  then 
throw  out  horizontal  branches  the  weight  of  which 
causes  the  proud  stem  to  bow.  The  leaves  are 
willow-shaped,  and  give  a  feathery  appearance, 
which  is  irresistible  in  charm  and  beauty.  In  the 
breeze  the  stems  sway  and  nod,  and  the  leaves 
quiver  and  rustle,  reminding  one  of  a  giant  ostrich 
plume.  The  stems  are  externally  covered  with  a 
substance  which  is  remarkably  siliceous.  Some 


THE    FACE    OF    LAOS-LAND  89 

species  are  so  hard  that  they  supply  fire  by  friction. 
The  stems  are  jointed  and  hollow,  save  at  the  nodes, 
where  a  strong  but  thin  partition  divides  them. 
Thus  a  large  joint  will  form  a  convenient  water- 
bucket,  a  small  one  a  pipestem.  When  the  par- 
titions are  knocked  out,  the  stem  forms  a  pipe, 
much  used  in  irrigation.  It  is  possible  to  build  a 
house  and  not  use  a  single  bit  of  material  other  than 
bamboo,  excepting  grass-thatch  for  a  cover.  It  is 
split  fine  and  woven  into  mats,  which  form  the  walls 
of  many  Laos  homes.  The  long  stems  are  cut 
into  half,  and  these  sections  split  roughly  with  a 
sharp  knife  until  it  lies  flat,  in  which  form  it  is 
called  fak,  and  is  used  for  flooring  the  homes  of 
the  peasant  class.  And  so  we  could  go  on  enumer- 
ating its  usages. 

Rice  and  sugar  cane,  cotton,  and  tobacco  are  the 
staple  crops.  The  cotton  is  of  two  distinct  kinds, 
one  being  the  shrub  kind  familiar  to  our  southern 
States,  the  other  growing  on  trees,  which  attain 
the  height  of  forty  or  sixty  feet,  bear  a  brilliant  red 
flower,  and  produce  a  pod  containing  a  fine  yellow- 
ish-white wool-like  fiber.  Mulberry  trees  are 
grown  for  silk  culture. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  FACE  OF  LAOS-LAND  (CONTINUED) 

THE  diversity  of  plant  life  is  only  exceeded  by 
that  of  the  animal  world.  These  range  in  size 
from  the  infinitesimal  ant  to  the  huge  elephant ;  in 
nature,  from  the  cooing  dove  to  the  bloodthirsty 
tiger;  in  agility,  from  the  creeping  tortoise  to  the 
monkey  swinging  by  his  tail,  leaping  from  tree  to 
tree  and  wailing  like  a  tempest  wind  through  a 
ship's  rigging.  On  the  land,  in  the  water,  in  the 
ground  beneath,  and  in  the  sky  above,  they  live 
and  move  and  have  their  being.  In  the  trackless 
jungle,  rhinoceros,  boars,  cattle,  bears,  deer,  and 
countless  such  creatures  make  their  homes.  Hum- 
ming birds  and  peacocks,  blue  jays,  and  long- 
legged  swamp  fowls,  add  color  or  music  to  the 
scene.  The  porcupine  must  not  be  overlooked,  for 
natives  firmly  believe  in  its  ability  to  shoot  its  quills 
at  its  adversary  when  angry  or  frightened.  I  have 
repeatedly  heard  it  attested  that  when  hungry  it 
brings  down  a  banana  by  a  deft  thrust  of  the  quill 
at  the  stem. 

As  a  rule,  the  tigers  are  comparatively  harmless. 
When  camped  in  the  forest  we  have  many  a  night 
been  wakened  by  their  cries  as  they  prowled  in 
search  of  food.  At  such  times  our  attendants 
would  beat  upon  bamboo  joints,  gongs,  or  anything 
at  hand  which  would  render  a  sound.  If  this  did 
90 


THE  FACE  OF  LAOS-LAND  (CONTINUED  )         91 

not  suffice  to  send  him  off,  a  huge  bonfire  would 
at  once  be  made.  Only  the  boldest  of  tigers  would 
approach  such  a  light.  When  once  a  tiger  has 
tasted  human  blood  he  becomes  what  is  known  as 
a  man-eating  tiger.  There  are  very  few  such  in  the 
Laos  country,  but  one  can  never  determine  by 
simply  seeing  the  beast  or  hearing  his  voice  which 
he  may  be. 

I  knew  of  three  natives  who  had  to  camp  over 
night  in  the  wild  forest.  They  built  a  huge  bonfire 
and  lay  beside  it  to  rest,  as  they  thought,  and  not 
to  sleep.  But  the  day's  tramp  had  been  too  much 
for  them,  and  unconsciously  they  fell  asleep.  The 
timid  one  of  the  three  had  begged  to  lie  in  the  mid- 
dle. His  companions  were  awakened  by  his  awful 
cry  of  pain  and  fright,  in  time  to  see  him  vanish  into 
the  darkness,  slung  across  the  back  of  a  tiger. 

When  a  tiger  become  a  man-eater  he  usually 
haunts  a  certain  community,  living  in  the  neigh- 
boring woods  and  roaming  forth  into  the  villages 
when  hungry.  In  such  communities  the  pigpens 
and  buffalo  stalls  are  built  of  heavy  logs.  Cats, 
dogs,  and  chickens  are  brought  up  into  the  house 
at  nightfall,  and  the  ladder  drawn  up  after  them. 
During  the  day  hours  no  person  would  dare  go, 
alone  from  village  to  village,  but  the  inhabitants 
move  about  in  groups  of  a  dozen  or  more  with 
their  long  sabers  in  hand.  At  once  will  come  the 
question  to  a  practical  American,  Why  not  kill  the 
tigers,  since  they  are  so  few,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
whole  matter?  The  following  instance  will  explain 
why  they  do  not: — 


92  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

At  a  village,  a  day's  journey  from  Lakawn,  there 
roved  such  a  man-eating  tiger.  He  had  eaten  a 
large  number  of  people  from  the  villages  clustered 
about.  One  sunny  day  he  sprang  upon  a  woman 
and  carried  her  into  the  jungle.  The  mangled 
body  was  found  by  a  band  of  some  fifty  men,  who 
turned  out  to  beat  the  forest.  In  a  fit  of  despera- 
tion their  instinctive  dread,  reinforced,  possibly,  by 
the  Buddhistic  belief  in  reincarnation,  was  over- 
come, and  four  of  the  bravest  of  the  men  consented 
to  be  left  with  guns  and  spears  in  the  tree  above  to 
await  the  sure  return  of  the  beast  for  his  prey. 
The  sound  of  retiring  footsteps  had  scarcely  died 
away,  when  the  poor,  helpless,  mangled  corpse 
beneath  "began  to  quiver  and  twitch,  and  finally  to 
jerk  its  limbs."  In  a  few  more  seconds  it  would 
have  been  up,  and  so  there  was  nothing  for  these 
four  brave  Nimrods  to  do  but  to  hie  them  down 
from  the  tree  and  speed  for  the  village  like  stricken 
deer.  A  man-eating  tiger  is  bad,  but  there  are 
worse  things  in  a  Laos  man's  life  of  bondage  to 
superstition  and  fear. 

The  most  hostile  of  all  beasts  to  the  foreigner  is, 
occasionally,  the  water  buffalo.  For  some  reason 
he  is  often  angered  by  the  sight  of  a  white  face,  and 
will  rush  in  frenzy  toward  it.  Usually  they  are 
docile,  and  a  child  can  lead  them  to  water  and  play 
upon  their  backs.  They  often  become  angry  with 
one  another  and  fight  fiercely,  goring  with  their 
horns  until  death  ends  the  fray.  In  such  a  fight, 
their  owners  cut  bushes  and  pile  them  quickly  and 
simultaneously  between  the  two  creatures  as  they 


THE  FACE  OF  LAOS-LAND  (CONTINUED)         93 

draw  from  each  other  preparatory  to  an  onrush. 
They  look  to  take  last  aim,  and  seeing  only  the 
pile  of  brush,  allow  themselves  to  be  led  away. 

Leaf  insects  and  stick  bugs  abound.  I  shall 
never  forget  my  amazement  the  first  time  my  atten- 
tion was  called  to  them.  During  a  journey,  we 
were  resting  beside  a  tiny  stream,  when  I  was  at- 
tracted to  a  bush  beside  me,  because  of  the  delicate 
manner  in  which  its  leaves  were  ribbed  and  veined. 
Drawing  near,  I  put  out  my  hand  to  pluck  a  leaf, 
but  drew  back  as  it  began  to  crawl  away. 

Reptiles  are  multitudinous.  One  species  de- 
serves a  special  word,  because  of  the  untold  benefit 
it  is  to  all  residents,  native  or  foreign.  It  is  a 
kind  of  lizard,  which  inhabits  houses  and  lives  upon 
flies  and  insects.  So  diligent  are  they  that  there 
positively  are  no  flies  in  the  houses.  If  one  ven- 
tures in  during  the  day,  let  him  beware,  for  no 
sooner  does  he  deign  to  alight  upon  the  wall,  than, 
presto !  and  he  is  at  peace  within  the  stomach  of  his 
destroyer.  These  lizards  are  perfectly  harmless, 
and  are  no  annoyance  to  even  the  most  careful  of 
housekeepers.  It  is  a  frequent  occurrence  to  see 
one  of  these  little  creatures  fall  to  the  floor,  the  jar 
snapping  off  its  tail.  Apparently  its  owner  is  not 
much  disconcerted  and  in  its  place  of  retreat  it 
soon  grows  another.  These  lizards  are  called  by 
the  natives  chakims.  But  for  these  chakims,  flies 
would  be  a  pest  to  the  land. 

Beetles  are  brilliant  in  color,  and  butterflies  are 
more  varied  in  size  and  color  than  in  any  other  place 
I  know  of.  The  specimens  I  saw  in  the  Indian 


94  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

collection  at  the  Queen's  Garden  Museum  were 
much  inferior  to  what  I  observed  in  the  Laos  for- 
ests. Ants  are  so  multitudinous  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  escape  from  them.  Besides  the  ordinary 
house  ant,  and  black  ants  of  many  kinds,  there  is 
a  large  red  ant  that  is  more  peppery  in  temper  and 
hotter  in  sting  than  any  other  little  creature.  They 
wage  fierce  battles  among  themselves,  and  I  have 
often  seen  two  different  trains,  meeting  upon  a 
narrow  fence  board,  fight  to  the  death  for  the  right 
of  way.  Their  bodies  when  crushed  exude  an  acid, 
which  removes  the  tenacious  stain  of  the  betel  nut. 
Though  the  natives  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
chemical  properties  of  this  formic  acid  they  make 
a  very  practical  use  of  it. 

Laos-land  is  one  of  the  homes  of  what  is  com- 
monly called  the  white  ant.  In  fact  these  creatures 
are  not  ants  at  all,  although  their  habits  are  very 
similar,  but  they  belong  to  a  different  order  of  in- 
sects, and  are  known  as  termites.  They  are  scav- 
engers of  the  land,  consuming  either  decaying  ani- 
mal or  vegetable  matter.  They  are  more  nearly 
omnivorous  than  any  other  creature.  Though 
these  termites  do  a  beneficent  work  as  scavengers, 
we  cannot  feel  very  grateful  to  them,  as  the  good 
they  do  is  apparently  overbalanced  by  the  great 
destruction  which  is  wrought  by  them.  I  have 
known  of  heavy  beams  of  houses  being  reduced  to 
a  shell  by  these  creatures.  When  climbing  up  into 
a  house  they  always  work  in  a  tunnel  of  clay.  This 
they  make  so  rapidly  that  they  often  scale  six  or 
eight  feet  in  a  night.  It  is  well  to  have  a  man  in- 


THE   FACE  OF  LAOS-LAND   (CONTINUED  )         95 

spect  every  pillar  of  your  house  the  first  thing  each 
morning,  else  you  may  open  your  trunk  or  camphor 
chest  to  find  only  a  powdered  mass  within,  or, 
worse  still,  your  book  shelves  may  be  utterly  de- 
molished. A  missionary  never  returns  from  itiner- 
ating without  a  resigned  feeling  as  he  enters  his 
home.  For  he  knows  not  what  destruction  awaits 
him  in  spite  of  watchmen  left  to  guard 
against  attacks  of  termites.  The  "soldiers"  of  these 
termites  have  large,  strongly  developed  mandibles. 
When  camping  in  forests  we  have  often  been 
awakened  by  a  tapping  sound,  like  a  gentle  shower, 
which  proved  to  be  only  the  snapping  of  the  mul- 
titudinous mandibles  of  a  hord  of  termites  feasting 
upon  the  dried  leaves  outside  our  tent.  At  such 
a  time,  it  is  well  to  place  baskets  on  an  impromptu 
scaffold  and  tie  cloths  soaked  in  coal  oil  around 
the  legs  of  scaffolding  and  cots. 

The  streams  of  the  country  teem  with  fish  of 
many  kinds,  and  the  people  resort  to  every  known 
method  to  catch  them.  They  fish  with  hook  and 
line,  set  traps,  cast  nets,  stretch  seines,  at  night  har- 
poon with  light  and  spear,  dig  in  the  mud  with 
their  hands  for  them,  and  sit  patiently  by  the  hour 
with  dip  net  in  hand,  putting  the  small  fish  they 
catch  into  a  basket  beside  them. 

The  jungles  of  the  land  of  the  Laos  are  also  the 
home  of  herds  of  wild  elephants.  A  few  of  these 
creatures  nature  has  stamped  as  albinos,  but  to 
Siamese  and  Laos  they  are  a  most  necessary  adjunct 
to  royalty,  the  want  of  one  being  considered  most 
ominous.  It  is  true  that  these  creatures  are  not 


96  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

now  kept  in  royal  stables  like  those  described  by 
tourists  several  years  ago,  but,  nevertheless  they 
occupy  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  a  venerated 
place.  And  thus  Siam  has  come  to  be  known  as 
the  Kingdom  of  the  White  Elephant,  and  one  of 
the  king's  titles  is  that  of  the  Lord  of  the  White 
Elephant.  The  national  flag,  a  white  elephant 
upon  a  red  field,  bears  proof  of  this  ancient  homage. 
There  are,  perhaps,  no  creatures  that  show 
greater  sagacity  in  comprehending  the  nature  of 
their  tasks,  and  in  adapting  themselves  to  them, 
than  elephants.  They  will  pile  teak  logs  all  day 
and  not  place  one  wrongly  or  unevenly.  A  male 
elephant  can  thus  lift  on  his  tusks  a  weight  equal 
to  half  a  ton.  Here,  in  the  land  of  the  Laos,  they 
are  the  only  power  for  moving  immense  weights. 
An  elephant  is  the  most  sure-footed  of  beasts,  and 
because  of  this,  and  for  other  admirable  traits,  he  is 
a  very  desirable  means  of  locomotion.  When 
traveling  he  will  break  from  the  path  interlacing 
vines  and  twigs,  eating  what  is  tender  and  palatable 
and  throwing  aside  what  is  not.  If  he  has  to 
ascend  a  steep  mountain,  he  will  do  so  by  kneeling 
on  his  forelegs,  thus  keeping  the  howdah  on  his 
back  fairly  level.  In  descending  he  will  reverse 
the  order.  If  a  stream  is  reached  he  will  step  into 
it  slowly,  one  foot  at  a  time,  until  the  channel  is 
reached,  which  is  too  deep  for  fording.  Then  he 
inflates  his  sides  and  swims  across.  His  pace  is  a 
kind  of  shuffle  which  gives  a  peculiar  movement  to 
the  howdah  that  often  causes  seasickness  to  the 
novice. 


THE  FACE  OF  LAOS-LAND  (CONTINUED  )         97 

Lakawn  is  known  as  one  of  the  greatest  elephant 
centers  of  the  country,  and  at  times  hundreds  may 
be  seen  daily  on  her  streets.  Formerly,  if  a  prince 
journeyed,  he  must  have  a  retinue  of  a  hundred  or 
more  elephants  to  accompany  him,  attention  of  the 
people  being  called  to  the  procession  by  the  beat- 
ing of  gongs  as  it  moved.  Elephants  are  not  fully 
grown  until  they  are  some  thirty  years  old,  and 
they  live  to  the  good  age  of  one  hundred  or  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  an  elephant's 
stomach  is  like  a  camel's,  and  has  a  chamber  for 
storing  water,  which  holds  some  ten  gallons.  If  he 
becomes  hot  or  dusty  in  travel  he  can  convey  a 
part  of  this  water  into  his  trunk  and  indulge  in  the 
luxury  of  a  shower  bath.  Or  if  thirsty,  can  con- 
vey the  water  to  his  mouth  instead.  Though  these 
huge  beasts  are  so  strong  and  sturdy  in  looks,  they 
are  very  susceptible  to  heat,  and  have  to  be  taken 
by  their  drivers  to  the  jungles  during  the  hot  sea- 
son. It  is  because  of  the  original  jungle  home  of 
the  elephant,  the  dense  dark  jungle,  that  they  have 
so  short  a  range  of  vision,  and  are  so  acute  of 
hearing.  The  timidity  of  the  elephant  is  almost 
proverbial.  When  alarmed  it  will  raise  its  trunk 
and  trumpet  loud  and  long.  This  he  will  also  do 
when  in  pain  or  greatly  angered.  Thus  the  name 
"trunk"  for  that  organ,  a  corruption  of  the  French 
trompe. 

An  elephant  in  an  American  zoo  is  away  from 
his  environments  and  is  simply  an  immense,  ugly, 
awkward  creature  of  whom  one  is  half  afraid.  But 


98  THE  LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

see  him  in  his  Laos  home,  where  the  "spicy  garlic 
smells,"  and  amid  the  "sunshine  and  the  palm  trees 
and  the  tinkly  temple  bells";  see  him  upon  the  rice 
plains,  with  a  setting  of  tropical  jungle  growth, 
grazing  quietly  and  with  care  beating  each  tuft  of 
grass  upon  his  leg  to  free  it  of  dust;  see  him  reach- 
ing up  for  a  coveted  bunch  of  bananas  or  else 
wrapping  his  trunk  about  a  palm  tree  and  swaying 
it  until  it  comes  to  the  ground  with  its  prized  cluster 
of  nuts;  see  him  thus,  and  your  heart  will  warm 
toward  him,  you  will  adopt  him  and  love  him  al- 
most as  does  the  dark-eyed  Laos. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  Laos- 
land,  for  it  is  wholly  undeveloped.  However,  we 
know  that  the  country  forms  the  very  heart  of  that 
system  that  on  its  outskirts  has  been  worked  with 
abundant  return.  It  is  certain  that  some  gold  is 
in  the  country,  for  hill  tribes  find  it  in  their  streams 
and  barter  it  to  Yunnun  traders.  Iron  is  mined  a 
little  by  the  natives  and  made  into  knives  and 
sabers  and  scissors,  the  last  named  being  of  a  huge, 
cumbersome  kind.  Gems  and  precious  stones  are 
found,  by  chance  at  times,  and  to  the  far  north 
there  are  wells  which  yield  petroleum,  and  others 
which  yield  salt.  The  latter  is  a  source  of  much 
revenue  to  the  villages  owning  them.  Some  future 
day  will  doubtless  reveal  an  immense  mineral  wealth 
in  Laos-land. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  HEART  OF  LAOS-LAND 

GOETHE  says:  "Marriage  is  the  beginning  and 
the  summit  of  all  civilization,"  and  it  is  doubtless 
due  to  the  sacredness  of  married  life  among  them 
that  the  Laos  enjoy  such  a  considerable  degree  of 
refinement,  culture,  and  morals  as  they  do.  Com- 
pared with  our  Christian  standards  they  are  far 
below  the  ideal,  even  the  mediocre;  but  when  re- 
garded in  the  light  of  centuries  of  heathen  dark- 
ness, they  have  certainly  attained  to  a  high  degree; 
a  higher  state  than  any  other  people  have  ever  ac- 
quired under  similar  circumstances.  Among  the 
peasant  class,  which  forms  the  great  mass  of  the 
population — the  stamina  of  the  land — polygamy  is 
almost  unknown.  The  princes  often  have  two  or 
more  wives  at  a  time,  and  a  harem,  if  they  so  wish. 

This  being  true,  we  would  expect  to  find  woman 
occupying  a  place  of  honor  in  the  family  life.  It  is 
a  well-known  fact  that  among  all  Shans  women 
are  allowed  a  freedom  of  movement  in  the  village 
and  markets,  keeping  stalls,  transacting  business, 
holding  property,  and  in  many  respects  the  equal 
of  man.  But  it  is  among  the  Laos  Shans  that  we 
find  woman  holding  more  nearly  her  true  place  in 
the  home  and  community  than  with  any  other  non- 
Christian  people  upon  the  globe.  Just  what  this 
position  is  will  be  apparent  from  the  following 
pages. 

99 


IOO  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

In  appearance  the  Laos  more  nearly  resemble 
the  Japanese  than  any  other  Asiatic  people.  The 
skin  is  of  an  olive  hue,  which,  because  of  exposure 
to  the  sun,  becomes  a  gingerbread  color  on  the 
bodies  of  the  peasant  class.  The  eyes  are  of  a 
dark  brown,  and  the  hair  straight  and  jet  black. 
In  stature  the  race  is  finely  proportioned,  the  men 
averaging  about  five  feet  and  a  half  in  height,  and 
the  women  a  half  foot  less.  The  bearing  of  the 
race  is  manly,  the  woman  walking  like  "youthful 
Dianas,  with  a  quick,  firm,  elastic  tread."  A  few 
quotations  will  illuminate  the  subject. 

"The  Chaus,  or  princes,  are  generally  very  fine- 
looking  men,  tall,  and  fair,  with  good  noses.  .  .  . 
The  other  men  are  tall,  stout,  hardy,  and  active. 
The  women  are  also  tall  and  remarkably  well  pro- 
portioned, very  fair  and  decidedly  a  handsome  race. 
.  .  .  The  children  are  particularly  fair."  "The 
quiet,  self-possessed  Shan  has  more  real  grit  and 
manliness  than  the  Burman."* 

"The  Laos  people  are  peaceful,  submissive,  pa- 
tient, sober,  faithful,  frank,  and  simple — but  credu- 
lous and  superstitious. "f 

"As  regards  the  women,  they  are  more  active, 
more  industrious  and  more  intelligent  than  the 
men.  They  have  an  undoubted  empire  over  their 
husbands,  and  can  drive  them  away  when  they  are 
not  content  with  them/'J 

*  Colquhoun's  Amongst  the  Shans. 

fPallegoix,  I,  38. 

$  From  M.  Graudjean,  quoted  in  Bowring's  Siam. 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  IOI 

"All  [a  household  near  Chieng  Mai  where  Mr. 
Hallet,  with  Dr.  McGilvary,  happened  to  stop  for 
information]  seemed  anxious  that  we  should  have 
correct  information,  even  the  youngest  daughter 
breaking  in  to  mention  the  name  of  a  village  which 
the  others  had  forgotten.  There  was  no  timidity, 
no  shyness,  no  awkwardness,  no  apparent  self- 
consciousness,  amongst  the  neat  and  comely  little 
damsels.  Their  demeanor  was  courtesy  itself,  and 
their  manners  and  deportment  were  as  graceful 
and  perfect  as  could  be  found  in  any  drawing- 
room  in  Europe."* 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  Laos  are  no  mean 
race.  They  are,  also,  very  reverent  of  age  and  au- 
thority, and  are  strong  in  personal  attachments. 
Though  so  affectionate,  they  are  very  undemon- 
strative in  this  regard.  A  proud  and  happy  hus- 
band and  father  will  return  home  from  an  absence 
of  a  week  or  more,  climb  up  to  the  veranda,  pour 
water  over  his  feet,  take  a  drink,  will  then  seat  him- 
self, and  glancing  toward  his  wife  ask  in  an  off- 
hand way  if  all  is  well.  Quietly  the  children  will 
creep  up  to  him  and  he  will  gather  them  in  his 
arms  without  an  iota  of  apparent,  excited  joy.  This 
is  paradoxical,  for  this  southern  people,  true  to 
their  clime,  are  emotional  and  demonstrative. 

In  regard  to  woman's  position  Bowring  quotes 
Father  Bigaudet  as  follows: — 

"In  Burma  and  Siam  the  doctrines  of  Buddha 
have  produced  a  striking,  and  to  the  lover  of  true 


*  Hallet's  One  Thousand  Miles  on  an  Elephant. 


IO2  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

civilization,  a  most  interesting  result,  viz.,  the  al- 
most complete  equality  of  the  condition  of  women 
with  that  of  men.  In  these  countries,  women  are 
not  so  universally  confined  in  the  interior  of  their 
houses,  without  the  remotest  chance  of  ever  ap- 
pearing in  public.  They  are  seen  circulating  freely 
in  the  streets;  they  preside  at  the  comptoir,  and 
hold  an  almost  exclusive  possession  of  the  bazaar. 
Their  social  position  is  more  elevated  in  every  re- 
spect than  that  of  the  persons  of  their  sex  in  the 
regions  where  Buddhism  is  not  the  predominating 
creed.  They  may  be  said  to  be  men's  compan- 
ions, and  not  their  slaves.  .  .  .  The  marital  rights 
are  fully  acknowledged  by  a  respectful  behavior 
toward  their  lords.  In  spite  of  all  that  has  been 
said  by  superficial  observers,  I  feel  convinced  that 
manners  are  less  corrupted  in  these  countries  where 
women  enjoy  liberty  than  in  those  where  they  are 
buried  alive  by  a  despotic  custom  in  the  grave  of 
an  opprobrious  slavery." 

With  the  closing  paragraph  I  most  heartily  con- 
cur, but  the  rest  of  the  quotation  setting  forth  a  view 
which  is  quite  popular,  is  erroneous.  Buddhism 
is  the  adopted  religion  of  the  Laos,  and  the  very 
earliest  possible  date  of  its  adoption  is  in  the  fifth 
century  A.  D.  We  know  from  the  mythical  chron- 
icles of  the  Shans  that  woman  held  the  place  she 
now  occupies  for  ages  before  Buddhist  missionaries 
ever  came  to  the  country.  That  the  chronicles  are 
mainly  myths  does  not  weaken  the  conclusion  that 
woman  held  her  present  position  at  that  time,  for 
myths  would  prove  that  as  conclusively  as  facts. 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  103 

Also  there  are  many  tribes  among  the  Laos  that 
have  never  been  converted  to  Buddhism,  and  among 
these  tribes  woman's  position  is  the  same  as  among 
the  Buddhist  Laos.  So  upon  investigation  one 
necessarily  concludes  that  woman's  position  is  due 
to  a  high  racial  development,  instead  of  to  the  in- 
fluence of  Buddhism. 

Her  real  position  is  interesting,  not  alone  because 
of  its  uniqueness,  but  for  its  apparent  contradic- 
tions arising  from  the  conflicting  influences  of  nat- 
ural inclinations  of  the  race  with  the  teachings  of 
Buddhism,  mixed  with  their  primitive  religion  of 
spirit-worship. 

Probably  it  may  be  best  understood  by  looking 
at  some  of  the  customs  gathered  about  wooing  and 
marriage. 

We  would  expect  in  this  land  of  warm  skies  and 
heavily-scented  flowers  to  find  romance  ruling,  and 
so  it  does.  A  maiden  loves  to  dream,  as  she  coils 
her  heavy  black  hair,  of  her  dark-eyed  lover  who 
will  come  to  woo  when  the  sun  is  down.  And 
when  she  discerns  his  light  footstep  upon  the  path 
she  will  give  the  scarf  about  her  shoulders  a  deft 
turn  and  the  flowers  in  her  hair  an  extra  touch  and 
then  compose  herself  upon  the  veranda  mat  to 
await  his  approach  with  as  much  apparent  uncon- 
cern as  an  American  maiden  could  assume. 

All  wooing  is  done  upon  the  wide  veranda,  where 
no  harsher  light  than  the  moon's  soft  rays  may  be 
found.  What  of  the  dark  of  the  moon,  you  ask? 
Ah !  but  you  must  know  that  no  young  gallant, 
however  bold  or  brave,  would  be  so  rash  as  to 


104  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

venture  out  on  a  dark  night.  Surely  you  must 
know  that  if  he  did  so,  an  evil  spirit  or  hobgoblin 
would  seize  him  and  either  carry  him  off  bodily 
or  else  brand  him  with  some  disease  or  mishap. 
So  on  moonlight  nights  one  may  see  in  all  direc- 
tions the  graceful  forms  of  young  men  coming  and 
going,  each  bent  upon  the  same  errand.  He  tells 
no  one  where  he  is  going,  for  he  is  "ashamed,"  un- 
less, indeed,  he  has  with  him  his  bosom  friend,  who 
is  sure  to  reveal  no  secrets.  It  is  customary  for 
young  men  to  do  all  their  wooing  in  company  with 
their  chum,  for  if  afterwards  his  sweetheart  should 
become  angry  with  him  and  should  wish  to  accuse 
him  of  breach  of  delicacy  such  as  touching  her 
hand  or  the  breaking  of  any  other  social  law,  her 
word  would  be  taken  in  court  as  final  and  con- 
clusive proof,  unless  there  be  a  witness.  In  such 
a  case  the  accused  lover  must  pay  over  to  the  fam- 
ily of  the  young  woman  the  usual  spirit-fine,  what- 
ever sum  that  may  be,  which  varies  with  different 
clans. 

Though  the  young  lover  is  so  careful  to  let  no 
one  know  where  he  is  going,  as  he  leaves  his  sweet- 
heart's home  he  sings  aloud  her  praises  in  a  rude 
blank  verse  of  his  own  composition,  comparing 
her  in  beauty  to  the  fabled  princess  of  the  North, 
and  as  she  listens  she  wonders  if  she  is  more  beau- 
tiful to  him  than  stars  and  more  precious  than 
rubies  or  diamonds. 

"All  men  have  some  imagination,  but 
The  Lover  and  the  Poet 
Are  of  imagination  all  compact." 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  105 

These  chanted  paeans  of  praise  to  his  love  are 
accompanied  by  music  picked  upon  a  pia,  a  soft- 
toned  instrument,  made  with  three  strings,  an 
ebony  stick,  and  the  half  of  a  cocoanut  shell. 

Usually  a  maiden  is  free  to  marry  the  man  of  her 
choice.  As  there  are  no  colleges  to  be  first  gradu- 
ated from,  no  fortunes  to  be  first  won,  this  she  does 
early  in  life.  To  our  way  of  thinking,  lovers  are 
surrounded  with  too  many  petty  rules  of  decorum. 
There  is  no  attention  paid  in  public,  and  so  no 
walks  together  to  the  sweetmeat  stalls,  no  little 
trips  together  to  the  lakawns  to  see  the  wonderful 
dancing,  for  all  this  would  be  highly  immodest  and 
unbecoming.  But  when  the  couple  have  decided 
that  they  love  one  another  "truly,  truly,"  the  con- 
sent of  the  parents  or  guardians  is  sought,  usually  by 
a  go-between.  If  it  is  granted,  an  early  day  is  set 
for  the  marriage,  at  which  time  the  groom  pays  to 
the  family  of  his  bride  the  accustomed  spirit-fines, 
signs  a  marriage  contract,  drawn  up  by  the  heads 
of  the  two  families,  comes  to  the  house  of  his  bride, 
where  together  they  receive  her  parents'  blessing 
and  become  man  and  wife. 

By  marriage  the  groom  has  left  his  father's  house 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  word.  If  he  has  sisters  he 
cannot  inherit  a  single  fruit  grove  nor  rice  field. 
He  becomes  a  son  to  his  parents-in-law,  and  his 
earnings  for  several  years  go  toward  the  general 
family  support.  He  also  changes  his  former  liege 
lord  and  becomes  a  serf  to  the  lord  of  the  family 
of  his  wife. 

Seldom,  if  ever,  do  a  young  couple  go  to  house- 


IC>6  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

keeping  at  once.  They  remain  in  the  home  of 
the  bride  for  a  year  or  more,  or  always,  according 
to  circumstances,  as  the  size  of  the  family  and  such 
things.  In  the  homes  one  often  finds  three  or  four 
generations  living  in  comparative  peace  and  har- 
mony. Motherhood  is  honorable  and  girl  babies 
are  as  welcome  as  sons. 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  the  vast  majority  of 
the  property  is  in  the  hands  of  the  women,  and  they 
manage  it,  too.  A  man  would  not  dare  sell  a  buf- 
falo or  rice  plain  without  first  obtaining  his  wife's 
consent.  In  fact,  he  would  seldom  care  to  trust 
his  own  judgment  in  the  matter,  but  would  prefer 
a  consultation  with  his  wife.  The  wife  also  holds 
the  purse  and  is  business  manager  for  the 
family. 

Parents  in  conversation  will  often  express  con- 
cern that  their  sons  will  marry  well,  but  never  their 
daughters.  As  for  them,  they  hope  they  will  get 
a  "good"  husband.  I  have  often  inquired  if  a  cer- 
tain young  man  was  wise  in  the  choice  of  a  wife 
and  invariably  would  come,  in  substance,  the  reply, 
"Oh,  yes,  the  young  woman  is  well  off,  as  she  in- 
herits three  buffaloes,  two  rice  fields,  a  good  fruit 
grove,  and  the  homestead  is  to  be  hers  when  her 
parents  die."  When  making  similar  inquiries  as 
to  an  affianced  groom,  the  reply  would  be :  "  Yes, 
I  think  he  will  make  Kam  Di  a  good  husband.  He 
does  not  get  drunk,  and  he  is  not  very  quick-tem- 
pered." 

The  wife  and  daughters  always  form  part  of  the 
family  circle  upon  the  veranda;  and,  in  brief,  it  may 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  IO7 

be  said  that  they  form  a  part  of  all  the  life  of  the 
land,  save  the  monastic  life  of  the  temple. 

There  is  some  distinction  between  man's  and 
woman's  work.  But  the  whole  family  labor 
together  upon  the  rice  plains  in  both  the  planting 
and  the  harvesting  seasons.  Men  and  women  alike 
know  the  art  of  cooking,  though  the  women  always 
prepare  the  food  when  they  are  around.  They  spin 
the  thread,  and  weave  the  cloth,  while  the  men 
make  mats  and  baskets  and  prepare  fresh  thatch 
and  flooring  for  the  homes.  All  the  above  being 
true,  an  American  is  astounded  when  he  beholds 
a  family  going  from  village  to  village  and  sees  the 
husband  striding  along  with  umbrella  over  his  head 
and  the  wife  following  bearing  a  bundle  and  the 
baby. 

Divorce  is  easy,  and  the  laws  are  in  favor  of  the 
women.  A  wife  can  tie  her  husband's  clothes  in  a 
bundle,  toss  them  out  of  the  door,  and  bid  him 
leave,  and  it  is  needless  to  add  that  he  does  not 
wait  for  a  second  invitation  to  do  so.  I  have  never 
known  a  husband  to  return  to  his  wife  under  such 
circumstances  unless  he  be  a  Christian.  Then  it 
takes  every  argument  of  the  missionary  and  the 
true  grace  of  God  in  the  man,  to  bring  it  about.  If 
the  couple  have  acquired  property  since  marriage, 
it  must  be  divided  according  to  marriage  contract, 
if  there  be  such,  or  as  the  custom  of  the  clan  or 
province  may  be.  If  a  man  wishes  to  be  divorced 
from  his  wife,  he  cannot  bid  her  go,  for  the  prop- 
erty is  hers,  so  he  must  needs  creep  away.  Often 
a  wife  has  no  idea  as  to  whether  her  husband  has 


IO8  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

left,  or  has  gotten  into  a  drunken  row  and  is  in  jail, 
until  the  weeks  go  into  months  and  he  does  not 
return.  She  then  consoles  herself  by  marrying 
again.  At  one  time,  the  man  whom  we  had  em- 
ployed as  watchman  had  a  quarrel  with  his  wife, 
and  she  put  him  out  of  the  house  and  banged  the 
door  upon  his  back.  He  did  not  dare  go  in  while 
she  was  angry  for  fear  she  might  bid  him  leave  for 
good.  At  another  time  the  wife  of  the  watchman 
on  a  neighboring  compound  decided  she  could  not 
endure  her  husband's  ways  any  longer,  and  as  they 
were  not  living  upon  their  own  property  she  re- 
turned to  her  people.  He  tried  in  every  known 
way  either  to  make  her  return  to  him  or  else  give 
up  half  her  jewels  which  she  had  bought  since 
marriage.  But  she  would  do  neither.  And  so  he 
went  across  the  mountains  to  another  province  and 
married  again  and  in  a  few  months  she,  too,  had 
another  husband.  Had  he  gone  to  law  she  would 
have  been  compelled  to  give  up  half  her  jewels,  but 
if  courts  are  slow  in  America,  judge  what  they  must 
be  in  Laos-land.  Though  divorce  is  so  easy,  there 
is  less  of  it  than  in  most  heathen  countries.  A  man 
or  woman  does  not  as  a  rule  lightly  break  the  bond 
of  the  happy  home  life. 

These  customs  are  existent  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  of  the  Laos,  but  in 
the  various  provinces  there  are  shades  of  differences 
and  they  must  be  slightly  modified  for  the  official 
and  princely  classes. 

As  neither  custom  nor  climate  demand  much 
clothing,  a  strip  of  cloth  two  and  a  half  yards  in 


EXCHANGING  A  CHEROOT  LIGHT. 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  IOO, 

length  and  a  yard  wide  is  sufficient  dress  for  a  man. 
This  is  donned  by  placing  the  center  of  the  strip 
upon  the  back  and  bringing  the  ends  to  the  front 
of  the  body.  The  flowing  ends  are  then  loosely 
twirled  together,  carried  between  the  legs,  up  at 
the  back,  and  the  extreme  end  of  the  coil  is  tucked 
in  at  the  waist  line.  This  forms  a  graceful  trouser 
arrangement,  called  pa  toi.  It  should  fall  to  the 
knee  when  a  person  is  dressed  for  social  life,  but 
the  workingman  often  pulls  the  cloth  up  to  a  mere 
loin  cloth,  the  tattooing  upon  his  legs  serving  as  a 
garment.  This  cloth  is  cotton  or  silk,  woven  solid 
or  in  plaids,  and  the  richer  the  color  the  better. 
During  the  cool  season  a  scarf  or  blanket  is 
wrapped  around  the  shoulders. 

A  man's  hair  is  evenly  cut  and  stands  up  from 
his  head  in  pompadour  style.  His  ears  are  pierced 
and  the  holes  enlarged  until  the  distended  lobe  will 
hold  a  cigarette  or  a  dainty  boutonniere.  The  feet 
are  always  bare,  and  the  head  uncovered.  Usually 
a  bag,  very  similar  to  a  child's  cloth  school  satchel, 
is  hung  from  the  shoulder.  This  will  contain  his 
betel  box,  cheroots,  copper  coins,  and  a  lump  of 
steamed  rice  rolled  up  in  a  green  banana  leaf.  If 
he  be  going  from  village  to  village,  a  long  knife  or 
sword  is  suspended  from  his  shoulder.  This  will 
be  used  in  countless  ways  and  may  be  termed  a 
Laos  man's  pocketknife,  only  it  must  also  serve  as 
a  mean  of  defense  if  attacked  by  wild  animals,  or  a 
drunken  band.  The  illustration  is  very  typical,  save 
for  the  exceedingly  homely  features  of  the  man. 
Exchanging  a  cheroot  light  is  a  common  courtesy 


IIO  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

in  many  localities,  though  it  is  considered  inelegant 
in  a  few  centers.  Men,  women,  and  children  are 
inveterate  smokers  of  a  large  cheroot,  which  is, 
however,  exceedingly  mild.  The  men  are  always 
smooth-faced,  except  for  a  mustache,  as  a  beard  is 
considered  unsightly.  Like  the  Japanese,  their 
skin  is  remarkably  free  from  hair,  and  great  care 
is  taken  to  pluck  out  by  the  roots  with  tweezers  any 
hairs  that  might  be  so  bold  as  to  show  themselves. 

A  woman's  dress  is  almost  as  simple  as  that  of 
a  man,  and  may  consist  solely  of  a  long  skirt  which 
falls  to  the  ankle.  This  is  bright  in  color,  always 
following  the  same  general  design  in  any  one  prov- 
ince. The  fashion  in  Lakawn  and  Chieng  Mai 
consists  of  a  broad  band  of  dark  brown  or  red  at 
the  bottom;  a  wider  strip,  consisting  of  many  nar- 
row stripes  of  various  colors,  purple,  orange,  white, 
and  garnet,  being  prominent;  above  this  a  similar 
band  to  that  at  the  bottom,  and  at  the  top  a  white 
strip  of  soft  goods.  This  is  brought  plain  from  the 
back  and  folded  in  front,  the  white  strip  being  used 
to  twist  and  tuck  in,  thus  giving  support  to  the 
skirt.  A  bosom  scarf  may  or  may  not  be  worn, 
and  in  the  cool  season  a  jacket  made  after  the 
Burmese  style  is  sometimes  donned,  but  solely  for 
comfort. 

With  the  Laos,  a  woman's  hair  is  truly  her  glory. 
It  is  carefully  dressed  with  a  comb  skillfully  made 
of  wood.  It  is  often  shampooed  with  a  tea  made 
from  the  rind  of  a  certain  sour  orange.  This 
cleanses  the  scalp  and  causes  a  healthy  growth.  If 
the  hair  lacks  in  natural  gloss  fresh  lard  oil  is 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  III 

rubbed  on,  which  gives  a  luster  like  unto  the  raven's 
wing.  If  a  woman  lacks  hair,  the  difficulty  is  over- 
come by  wearing  a  switch,  which,  by  the  way,  is 
cleverly  made.  The  hair  is  dressed  by  tying  at  the 
back  of  the  head  and  coiling  into  a  knot,  which  is 
given  a  turn  like  the  tie  of  a  four-in-hand  scarf. 
This  keeps  it  neatly  in  place  and  no  pin  is  needed  to 
secure  it.  In  the  distended  ear  lobe  a  coil  of  gold 
or  brass  is  slipped,  according  to  the  woman's 
means.  If  these  coils  are  of  brass,  they  are  made 
by  coiling  tightly  a  pliable  strip  about  a  yard  long 
and  an  inch  in  depth.  If  the  material  is  gold,  a 
hollow  cylindrical  form  is  used,  the  curved  sides 
being  covered  with  a  sheet  of  gold.  The  ends  are 
then  finished  off  by  coiling  a  gold  wire  round  and 
round  from  the  center,  until  the  circumference  is 
reached.  This  gives  the  ring  the  appearance  of 
being  made  as  was  the  brass  one  and  yet  maintains 
a  lighter  weight,  and  is  less  costly. 

Black  teeth  are  so  highly  esteemed  that  one 
never  sees  a  white  tooth  save  in  the  mouth  of  a 
very  young  child.  Betel-chewing  tends  to  darken 
the  enamel  and  chut  is  carefully  rubbed  on  to  in- 
tensify the  black,  for  it  is  a  common  saying,  "Any 
dog  can  have  white  teeth."  The  betel  chew  is 
composed  of  the  areca  or  betel  nut,  siri  leaf  used  in 
a  green  state,  lime  mixed  with  tumeric  which  forms 
a  pink  paste  and  a  pinch  of  tobacco.  Camphor  is 
added  if  easily  obtainable.  This  combination  is 
chewed  as  constantly  and  persistently  as  is  tobacco 
among  the  negro  men  of  our  Southland.  Un- 
weaned  children  learn  to  chew  it,  and  men  and 


112  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

women,  toothless  with  age,  reduce  the  ingredients 
to  pulp  in  a  small  tube-like  mortar,  and  then 
complacently  munch  it.  It  is  a  pleasant  stimulant, 
but  a  very  unsightly  habit,  for  the  blood-red  saliva 
of  chewers  stains  the  roadside,  market  places,  and 
homes.  The  betel  boxes  of  the  wealthy  or  well- 
to-do  are  made  of  beaten  gold  or  silver,  exquisitely 
worked.  Those  of  the  poorer  class  are  of  lacquer 
ware.  It  is  discourtesy  not  to  offer  the  betel  box 
to  one's  Laos  guest,  and  an  offense  to  refuse  it,  ex- 
cept for  a  good  reason.  Foreigners  never  offend 
by  so  doing,  if  they  explain  that  it  is  not  the  custom 
in  their  country. 

A  maiden  when  fresh  from  a  plunge  in  the  river 
and  dressed  in  a  new  skirt  and  bright  scarf  is,  in- 
deed, comely  and  fair  to  look  upon.  Her  shapely 
form  is  perfectly  and  gracefully  poised  and  her  head 
is  held  in  a  queenly  way.  Her  hands  and  feet  are 
small,  so  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  manacle 
many  of  the  women.  She  is  not  perfumed  and 
painted  and  adorned  as  are  the  Chinese  women, 
neither  has  she  the  air  of  elegant  refinement  that 
surrounds  a  Burmese  woman.  But  she  has  about 
her  a  certain  freshness,  as  though  new  created,  and 
a  naive  manner  which  is  lacking  in  these  other 
peoples. 

In  recent  years  a  slight  change  in  dress  has  come 
to  the  chief  cities.  Formerly  the  missionaries  en- 
couraged all  over  whom  they  had  an  influence  to 
wear  a  jacket  made  of  white  India  muslin,  which 
could  be  obtained  in  all  the  markets  at  low  figures. 
For  many  years  this  white  jacket  was  a  badge  of 


'A  SLIGHT  CHANGE  IN  DRESS." 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  113 

Christianity,  but  gradually  its  use  became  more 
general,  and  now  it  is  the  ordinary  thing  to  see 
many  men  and  women  in  the  capital,  and  other 
cities,  attired  in  such  a  jacket.  Men  and  women 
have  been  patiently  taught  by  the  women  of  the 
mission  to  cut,  fit,  and  sew  these  jackets,  and  there 
are  now  scores  of  able  tailors  earning  their  living 
by  making  these  garments,  and  usually  upon  a 
good  American-make  sewing  machine. 

The  homes  of  this  people,  though  simple,  are 
adapted  to  their  needs.  They  are  built  on  the  fol- 
lowing general  plan.  The  owner  gets  his  material 
together  slowly,  day  by  day.  Among  the  poor  this 
is  mostly  of  bamboo;  among  the  well-to-do  of  teak, 
or  some  other  hard  wood.  He  measures  and  cuts 
the  framework  and  mortises  or  dovetails  the 
pieces,  so  that  they  will  fit.  When  this  is  accom- 
plished, he  invites  his  friends  to  come  on  a  certain 
day  to  the  house-raising;  and  they  come,  for  it  is  a 
gala  day.  Holes  are  soon  dug  to  anchor  the  post 
pillars,  and  the  framework  is  quickly  fitted  together 
and  is  in  place.  Often  the  floor  is  laid  with  fak  or 
split  bamboo.  This  is  run  parallel  across  the  sills 
until  the  whole  floor  surface  is  covered.  The  fak  is 
then  tied  to  the  sills  with  bamboo  withes^  which 
are  tough,  though  pliable,  or  with  rattan.  This 
kind  of  a  floor  has  considerable  spring  in  it,  and 
forms  a  fairly  comfortable  bed  for  the  family  when 
they  spread  their  mats  and  cotton  sails  at  night. 

The  walls  are  next  made,  usually  of  split  bamboo, 
woven  into  a  frame  which  fits  into  the  framework 
of  the  house.  Thatch  is  then  tied  upon  the 
8 


114  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

roof  and  the  house  is  complete,  a  house  strong 
enough  to  withstand  the  elements,  and  commodious 
and  comfortable  enough  for  the  wants  of  this  people. 

But  we  have  overlooked  the  dinner  hour — a  very 
grave  blunder.  At  that  time  all  "knock  off"  and 
a  sumptuous  repast  of  rice,  savory  curry,  fruits,  and 
sweetmeats  is  spread  at  the  host's  expense.  When 
the  meal  is  over,  betel  nut  and  cheroots  are  passed 
and  a  pleasant  hour  is  spent,  smoking,  chewing, 
and  chatting,  when  work  is  again  resumed. 

In  house-building  a  few  rules  have  to  be  ob- 
served, such  as  having  the  pillars  an  odd  number 
and  the  rounds  of  the  ladder  leading  into  the  house 
odd.  This  is  for  good  luck.  Before  the  crowd  dis- 
perses, solemn  exercises  are  held  over  the  putting 
away  of  the  "spirit-house."  This  is  a  tiny  house 
which  looks  very  like  a  toy  house  for  children.  It 
is  made  as  beautiful  as  the  means  of  the  owner  will 
allow,  and  is  placed  sometimes  on  a  post  some- 
where in  the  door  yard,  sometimes  upon  a  shel- 
tered part  of  the  veranda,  where  food,  flowers,  and 
fruit  are  kept  before  it  for  the  spirits  to  feed  upon. 
Evil  spirits  are  supposed  to  rest  in  this  wee  house 
and  leave  the  family  unmolested  so  long  as  they  do 
not  offend  them.  With  our  Christian  people  there 
is  no  spirit-house  to  be  dedicated ;  but  they  have  a 
gathering  after  their  houses  are  completed,  and 
then  publicly  dedicate  the  home  and  all  its  belong- 
ings to  God.  The  service  is  very  pretty  and  im- 
pressive, and  in  the  prayer  of  consecration  all  the 
worldly  goods  of  the  man  and  wife  are  sometimes 
enumerated,  even  to  the  chickens  and  fruit  groves. 


0 

M 

m     's 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND  115 

These  houses  vary  in  size,  according  to  the  means 
of  the  family,  but  always  one  general  plan  is  fol- 
lowed. If  the  house  be  "one-roof,"  it  consists  of 
one  interior  room,  a  wide  veranda,  partly  covered 
above  and  at  one  side,  and  a  wee  kitchen  at  one 
end  of  the  veranda.  If  the  house  be  "two-roof," 
each  one  of  the  two  sections  is  built  on  the  same 
plan.  The  interior  room  is  used  as  bedroom,  but 
if  the  family  be  large  there  are  often  stretched  mat 
screens  across  the  room.  But  during  the  hot  sea- 
son the  whole  family  sleeps  upon  the  open  ver- 
anda, which  is  at  once  living  room,  parlor,  and 
reception  room. 

The  houses  of  the  well-to-do  peasant  class  are 
made  of  a  teak  or  other  hardwood  framework, 
the  walls  being  of  boards  or  mats,  and  the  roof 
being  either  tiled  or  thatched.  The  floor  is  some- 
times made  of  planks,  sometimes  of  fak.  The 
palaces  of  the  chau,  or  rulers,  are  more  pretentious. 

In  Laos  houses  one  finds  but  little  household 
furnishings.  A  swinging  cradle,  a  few  mats  and 
cotton  pads  or  mattresses  for  sleeping,  pillows, 
water  jars,  and  cooking  vessels  being  the  only  es- 
sentials. There  are  no  chairs,  for  it  is  custom  to 
sit  upon  the  floor.  Men  sit  Turk  fashion,  but  for  a 
woman  to  do  so  is  evidence  of  ill-breeding.  They 
seat  themselves  by  dropping  deftly  upon  the  knees 
with  the  feet  together,  and  letting  the  body  down  to 
one  side  of  the  feet.  It  is  a  very  trying  position 
for  a  stiff-jointed  American,  but  one  which  all 
women  who  live  in  the  land  must  adopt  unless 
they  offend.  When  tired  of  this  position,  the 


Il6  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

women  raise  the  body  a  little  and  swing  the  feet  to 
the  other  side.  It  is  done  so  quickly  that  at  first 
a  stranger  cannot  discern  what  has  been  done.  If 
one  tires  of  sitting  thus  upright,  it  is  perfectly  ad- 
missible to  lean  upon  one  arm,  or  to  rest  one 
elbow  upon  a  cushion. 

The  kitchen  is  at  one  end  of  the  veranda,  and  is 
a  tiny  room,  having  a  large  box  in  the  center  filled 
with  earth.  Thereon  are  placed  stones  to  support 
the  few  crude  cooking  vessels,  consisting  usually 
of  a  pot  for  boiling-  curry  and  a  rice  steamer,  often 
made  from  a  bamboo  joint.  The  smoke  ascends 
and  creeps  through  the  eaves,  leaving  behind  long 
black  festoons  of  cobwebs.  To  one  side  of  the 
room  is  a  mortar  and  pestle  for  pounding  curry. 
Rice  is  the  principal  article  of  food,  and  is  eaten 
at  least  three  times  a  day,  and  three  hundred  and 
sixty-five  days  in  the  year.  It  differs  from  our 
Carolina  rice,  being  very  glutinous  and  creamy  in 
color.  It  must  be  soaked  over  night  in  water  and 
washed  several  times  before  steaming.  When  suf- 
ficiently cooked,  it  is  poured  out  upon  a  mat,  and 
while  steaming  hot  is  slightly  kneaded  into  a  mass. 
It  is  then  ready  for  use,  and  is  eaten  by  pulling  off 
a  lump  about  the  size  of  an  egg,  which  is  mashed 
in  the  hand  and  then  dipped  into  the  curry  bowl 
and  eaten  as  a  "sop."  Curry  can  be  anything  from 
water  and  red  pepper  boiled  together,  to  the 
savory  dishes  served  by  that  name  to  visitors  at 
Bangkok  or  Maulmein.  Into  the  curry  pot  goes 
chopped  meat,  cocoanut  milk,  vegetables,  or  if  they 
be  lacking,  the  leaves  of  vines  or  bushes  flavored 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND 

with  garlic  or  onion.  The  most  highly  prized  in- 
gredient that  can  be  put  into  curry  is  called  ha.  It 
is  in  plain  English,  rotten  fish,  and  it  smells  a  little 
bit  worse  than  a  whiff  of  the  far-famed  durian. 
This  ha  is  prepared  by  packing  fish  away  in  bamboo 
joints  and  allowing  it  to  decompose.  So  penetrat- 
ing and  offensive  is  the  odor  that  I  have  never 
known  more  than  one  foreigner  to  taste  it,  and  this 
is  how  that  happened: — 

This  gentleman  was  in  a  village  holding  services 
with  the  few  Christian  families  there,  and  was  in- 
vited home  by  the  elder  to  dinner.  When  the 
hour  arrived  to  serve  the  meal  it  was  spread  tastily 
on  a  mat  upon  the  floor.  Now  it  happened  that 
this  particular  missionary  could  not  tell  the  dif- 
ference between  the  odor  of  a  rose  and  of  an  onion, 
and,  so,  behold  him,  with  keen  delight,  dipping  his 
rice  into  the  curry  and  tasting.  Ah!  but  it  was  de- 
licious! the  very  best  curry  he  had  ever  eaten.  And 
so  he  calls  his  cook  who  is  along  with  him,  and  tells 
him  to  note  well  how  the  curry  was  made  as  he 
wishes  some  exactly  like  it  the  following  week  when 
he  shall  entertain  the  native  ministers.  But  to 
his  dismay  the  curry  on  that  occasion  was  no  bet- 
ter than  usual.  After  his  guests  had  left  he  went 
to  his  cook  for  explanation,  who  said,  "Why, 
Father  Teacher,  you  did  not  want  that  kind  of 
curry,  for  it  was  made  with  ha." 

A  Laos  table  is  only  about  two  feet  in  diameter, 
is  round  in  shape,  and  is  only  a  few  inches  from  the 
floor.  Beside  it  is  placed  the  basket  of  rice  and 
upon  it  there  may  be  several  small  bowls  of  curry, 


Il8  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

also  fruit  and  a  bit  of  dried  fish,  which  is  daintily 
partaken  of  as  a  relish,  or  there  may  be  only  one 
bowl  of  curry.  The  family  gather  about  the  table,  or 
mat,  and  eat  in  silence.  Food  is  taken  to  the  mouth 
with  the  fingers,  and  strange  as  this  may  seem,  it 
is  done  with  a  nicety  that  forms  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  shoveling-like  process  of  some  orientals  in 
eating.  The  well-bred  Laos  man  eats  slowly,  pick- 
ing a  piece  of  fish,  or  taking  a  bite  of  banana  in  be- 
tween bites  of  rice  and  curry.  It  is  the  height  of 
impropriety  to  interrupt  a  person  when  eating. 
Even  a  chau  never  calls  a  slave  at  such  a  time.  If 
a  superior  calls  not  knowing  that  his  servant  is  eat- 
ing, that  servant  will  answer,  without  rising,  "Kin 
kau  yu,"  "Eating  rice,  still,"  and  his  answer  is  en- 
tirely acceptable.  When  the  meal  is  finished  the 
curry  bowl  is  carried  to  the  end  of  the  veranda  and 
washed,  and  a  drink  of  water  is  taken  before  the 
chew  of  miang  is  placed  in  the  mouth.  Miang  is  a 
roll  of  moist,  salted  tea  leaves,  which  is  held  in  the 
mouth  and  slowly  chewed.  It  is  the  native  way  of 
using  tea.  It  is  said  to  be  more  invigorating  than 
tea-drinking.  No  drink  whatever  is  partaken  of 
during  meals. 

One  can  readily  see  that  there  would  be  no  wear- 
ing out  of  nerves  over  housekeeping  in  the  Laos 
country.  The  floor  is  swept  when  it  is  in  crying 
need  thereof,  and  a  few  whisks  of  the  broom  sends 
dirt  and  trash  skurrying  through  the  cracks  in  the 
floor.  There  are  no  family  wash  days.  When  a 
garment  is  soiled  the  owner  carries  it  to  the  river 
when  he  or  she  goes  to  bathe  and  beats  it  clean 


THE    HEART    OF    LAOS-LAND 

against  a  tree  trunk  or  boat  side."  There  is  no 
spring  house-cleaning,  but  when  the  annoying 
cimex  lectularius  becomes  a  pest,  the  cotton  sails 
are  thrown  out  into  the  noonday  sun,  and  the  walls 
and  floors  are  vigorously  beaten  and  swept,  and 
sometimes  scalded  with  boiling  water.  When  the 
walls  become  soiled  or  decayed,  they  are  torn 
off  and  new  ones  take  their  place.  Peaceful  dust  is 
allowed  to  accumulate,  and  dirt  is  left  undisturbed. 
Thus  much  disease  is  harbored  and  spread,  and  the 
great  prevalence  of  such  diseases  as  smallpox  and 
leprosy  can  be  readily  accounted  for.  Though  the 
solicitudes  and  cares  that  come  with  a  high  civiliza- 
tion are  unknown  to  this  people,  so,  also,  are  its 
comforts  and  its  joys. 


CHAPTER  IX 

CHAUS  AND  SERFDOM 

IN  an  old  Book  we  are  taught  that  he  that  is 
chief,  or  great,  should  be  as  he  that  serves,  but  the 
Laos  have  a  very  different  idea  of  greatness.  With 
them,  to  be  great,  is  to  receive  much  service,  not 
render  it,  and  so  we  find  the  gens  de  condition  re- 
clining in  ease  and  luxury,  while  a  patient,  long- 
suffering  people  serve  them  with  their  best. 

All  the  peasant  class  are  in  a  manner  serfs,  for 
they  are  attached  to  some  chau  to  whom  they  look 
for  protection,  and  to  whom  in  return  they  render 
a  certain  amount  of  labor.  This  corvee  is  not  a 
burden  among  the  Laos  as  it  is  with  Siamese,  for 
no  tax  is  levied  in  lieu  of  it,  nor  is  so  much  time 
demanded.  Often  a  man  may  go  for  several  years 
without  being  called  out  for  labor.  Probably  the 
reason  for  this,  aside  from  the  usually  clement  dis- 
position of  the  chaus,  is  that  a  peasant  can  at  any 
time  he  may  wish  change  his  protector  without  a 
change  of  residence.  Thus  a  kind  and  genial  chau 
will  gather  about  himself  a  large  following  of 
peasants  upon  whom  he  can  exact  corvee  at  any  de- 
sired time,  while  an  over-exacting  and  ill-tempered 
one  will  be  left  with  only  his  slaves. 

The  wealth  of  the  chaus  is  very  great,  but  it  is  not 
derived  from  taxation.  It  is  partly  hereditary  in 
the  form  of  rice  plains,  fruit  groves,  valuable  for- 
120 


CHAUS   AND   SERFDOM  121 

ests,  and  gems  and  golden  vessels.  This  ac- 
cumulated wealth  is  never  expended,  'for,  if  a  chau 
wishes,  for  instance,  carriers  to  take  him  across  the 
mountains  to  visit  a  neighboring  province  he  levies 
corvee  upon  a  score  of  his  serfs.  If  he  wishes  to 
build  a  new  apartment  to  his  palace,  it  is  done 
in  a  similar  manner;  and  so  whatever  labor 
and  service  is  needed  can  be  had  without  com- 
pensating. 

According  to  the  wealth  and  power  of  a  chau  is 
the  number  of  slaves  he  owns;  this  number  may 
vary  from  a  dozen  to  even  a  thousand  or  more. 
These  may  be  slave-born,  or  purchased,  or  war 
captives.  They  may  live  either  within  the  palace 
of  the  chau,  or  in  some  outlying  village,  where  they 
make  their  own  living  and  are  at  liberty,  save  that 
they  must  always  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to 
answer  the  call  of  their  lord  for  an  hour's  service  or 
a  month  or  more.  Many  of  the  peasants  become 
slaves  from  debt.  They  borrow  money  to  pay  their 
government  taxes,  and  then  almost  inevitably  fail 
to  meet  their  debt,  and  so  become  the  property 
of  the  chau.  There  is  no  real  excuse  for  this,  as 
taxes  are  low.  Slaves  can  purchase  their  freedom, 
but  so  little  money  is  in  circulation  that  it  is  a  very 
difficult  thing  to  do.  Slavery  has  become  a  prob- 
lem in  official  circles,  as  in  recent  years  his  majesty 
has  issued  an  edict  proclaiming  that  from  the  date 
of  the  edict  all  children  born  of  slaves  should  be 
free.  The  difficulty  arises  from  the  circumstances 
which  make  enforcement  of  the  law  dependent  upon 
the  very  men  against  whom  it  works. 


122  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SI  AM 

The  whole  class  of  monks,  from  the  youngest 
novitiate  to  the  abbot,  is  exempt  from  corvee.  One 
may  see  that  the  only  really  free  persons  in  the 
kingdom  of  Siam  are  the  monks  and  his  majesty 
the  king.  For  the  slaves  crouch  to  their  masters ; 
the  peasants  look  to  their  liege  lords;  judges  look 
to  the  local  chaus;  while  the  local  chau  bows  lowly 
to  the  head  chau  of  the  province  known  as  the 
governor.  The  governor  may  proudly  rule  over 
his  province,  but  he  becomes  meek  when  the  Siam- 
ese high  commissioner  appears.  And  this  same 
commissioner  that  holds  his  head  so  high  when  in 
the  province  has  to  hold  his  place  at  the  mere  will 
or  pleasure  of  his  majesty. 

The  ruling  class  of  Laos  have  a  dignity  and  re- 
finement of  manner  that  would  be  for  them  a  pass- 
port into  the  elegant  society  of  any  capital  city. 
They  are  not  cold  and  conservative,  but  are  inter- 
ested in  people  and  affairs  of  the  world,  and  are 
very  eager  to  adopt  western  civilization.  Yet,  in 
a  way,  they  are  a  selfish,  self-seeking  class,  and  have 
not  the  interest  of  their  people  at  heart.  They  live 
solely  for  gain  and  pleasure;  pleasure  and  gain. 
Exceptions  only  prove  the  rule.  These  are  men 
who  have  a  real  zeal  for  the  advancement  of  their 
people,  and  call  to  our  minds  the  lines, 

"We  thank  thee,  Lord,  that  thou  hast  made  joy  to  abound, 
That  in  the  darkest  spot  of  earth  some  love  is  found." 

Usually  the  chaus  have  several  wives  and  a 
harem,  but  not  always.  The  Chau  Haw  Na  of 
Lakawn  married  a  woman  who  equaled  him  in 


CHAUS   AND   SERFDOM  123 

rank.     She  objected  to  a  second  wife,  so  there  has 
never  been  one.  > 

The  parasitical  life  of  the  chaus  upon  the  peasants  v 
is  the  cause  of  a  state  of  stagnation.  Here  we  have 
a  rich,  tropical  country,  and  a  people  fairly  indus- 
trious, and  pastoral  in  their  instincts  and  habits, 
yet  the  land  is  undeveloped,  and  the  people  are  in 
a  state  of  lethargy.  A  few  instances  will  illustrate 
more  fully  this  state  of  affairs. 

A  man  from  a  neighboring  village  came  to  the 
Lakawn  Dispensary  for  medicines.     When  told  the 
price,    a    mere    nominal    one,    he    replied,    "Paw   */ 
Liang  y*  I  shall  have  to  beg  this  medicine,  for  I 
have  not  an  ait  with  which  to  pay  you."f 

"Very  well,"  came  the  reply;  "but  you  can  bring 
in  some  bananas  next  time  you  come;  my  wife  will 
buy  them  from  you,  and  you  can  then  pay  for  your 
medicine." 

"No,  I  have  no  bananas." 

"Is  that  so?"  said  the  doctor;  "why,  you  had  a 
fine  banana  grove  when  I  was  last  at  your  village. 
Well,  then,  bring  some  cocoanuts  and  my  wife  will 
buy  them.  We  always  want  cocoanuts." 

"Paw  Liang,  my  cocoanut  trees  are  all  gone," 
came  the  sad  reply. 

"Why,  man!  what  has  become  of  your  trees?  I 
can't  understand." 

"Paw  Liang,  it  is  like  this.     My  family  never  got 


*This   term   means  literally,   "Father   nourisher,"   and 
is  the  name  given  all  mission  physicians  by  the  natives, 
t  An  att  is  a  copper  coin,  worth  about  half  a  cent. 


124  THE  LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

any  good  bananas  out  of  that  grove  or  cocoanuts 
from  those  trees.  Chau  B —  would  always  send 
for  the  first  and  the  best,  and  in  a  fit  of  anger  I 
leveled  the  whole  to  the  ground." 

The  trouble  here  may  be  readily  appreciated. 
This  man  had  too  strong  a  spirit  of  freedom  for  a 
Laos.  Usually  they  accept  their  lot  without  a 
thought  of  complaint  or  resentment.  They  seldom 
ask,  Why?  but  instead  make  the  best  of  their  cir- 
cumstances, and  are  only  careful  not  to  expend  too 
much  time  and  energy  upon  anything. 

To  the  north  of  Lakawn  the  following  incident 
occurred:  A  young  man  by  the  name  of  Ai  Pat 
had  been  industrious  and  ambitious,  and  had  saved 
up  a  little  money,  amounting  to  about  two  hun- 
dred dollars  of  American  currency.  His  parents, 
then  aged  and  feeble,  owned  extensive  property, 
highly  valued.  The  homestead  was  a  good  teak 
house,  surrounded  by  fragrant  fruit  groves.  The 
married  daughters  had  all  been  settled  off  in  teak 
houses  of  their  own,  with  fruit  groves  and  rice 
plains.  Unfortunately  a  local  chau  heard  that  Ai 
Pat  had  this  money.  He  called  upon  him  and  in 
a  gracious  way  suggested  his  need  of  a  little 
ready  money.  Ai  Pat  appeared  sympathetic,  but 
did  not  show  up  his  two  hundred  dollars.  The 
chau  then  spoke  more  plainly,  and  said  he  had  heard 
that  Ai  Pat  had  a  little  money,  and  he  would  like  to 
"borrow"  it.  Ai  Pat  knew  what  "borrow"  meant, 
and  he  clave  unto  his  money,  denying  that  he  had  it. 
Had  he  given  it  to  the  prince,  there  would  have 
been  no  further  trouble.  As  it  was,  the  prince 


CHAUS   AND   SERFDOM  125 

stole  the  money.  Just  how,  I  do  not  remember, 
but  steal  it  he  did  and  in  such  a  manner  as  gave 
clear  proof  of  the  deed  to  all.  Ai  Pat  raged  and 
went  to  the  court.  "  Had  he  not  been  crazed  with  a 
sense  of  wrong  he  would  never  have  done  so  rash 
a  deed.  A  Laos  child  knows  that  might  is  right. 
But  the  case  is  in  the  courts,  and  it  is  decided 
against  Ai  Pat.  It  is  now  time  for  the  chau  to  be 
angry.  Ai  Pat's  case  has  been  one  of  insubordina- 
tion, revolt  against  authority.  It  must  be  dealt 
with.  And  so  he  sends  for  a  man  skilled  in  the 
art  of  dealing  with  witchcraft.  He  is  given  his 
cue,  and  behold!  in  a  few  days,  the  neighbors  de- 
clare that  the  women  of  Ai  Pat's  family  are  witches, 
that  he  was  born  of  a  witch,  and  that  it  was  by 
exercising  this  power  that  the  family  had  ac- 
cumulated their  great  wealth;  that  had  they  not 
been  witches,  they  would  never  have  been  so  bold 
and  impudent  as  to  accuse  a  chau  of  theft ;  that  cer- 
tain persons  in  the  village  had  been  killed  by  them; 
that  others  were  now  sick,  and  so  on,  until  one  fair, 
sunny  day  the  community  arose  as  a  man  and  with 
sticks  and  stones  and  curses  drove  the  whole  family 
from  the  village.  They  escaped  with  their  lives, 
but  barely,  and  the  father  was  unable  to  travel.  So 
Ai  Pat  made  as  though  he  were  going  to  the  north, 
but  by  a  skillful  night  movement  evaded  the  spies 
and  got  to  the  river  with  his  father,  where  he  cut 
bamboo  poles,  bound  them  into  a  raft,  placed  his 
father  upon  it,  and  brought  him  downstream,  stop- 
ping at  the  landing  of  the  Lakawn  Mission  Hos- 
pital. The  family  had  no  connection  with  the  mis- 


126  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

sion,  but  Ai  Pat  had  heard  of  it,  and  he  fled  to  its 
open  doors.  He  then  returned  to  the  band  of 
homeless  wanderers,  helpless  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  together  they  went  to  the  far  north 
of  the  Chieng  Mai  province  to  a  village,  where  there 
is  a  large  number  of  Christians,  and  where  he  knew 
that  they  would  be  befriended  and  helped  to  start 
life  again.  The  old  homestead  that  they  were 
driven  from  was  burned  to  the  ground,  and  the 
fruit  groves  leveled.  A  large  grove  of  tall  areca 
palms  was  cut  until  not  one  tree  was  left  to  tell 
the  story.  I  stood  upon  the  spot  a  few  weeks 
after  the  day  of  this  crime,  and  can  attest  that 
never  before  did  destructionists  so  completely  ac- 
complish their  task. 

The  homes  of  the  married  sisters  were  also 
burned,  and  all  the  rice  plains  of  the  family  were 
claimed  by  the  chau.  You  ask  if  there  is  no  power 
to  investigate,  to  rectify,  and  I  reply  that  this  is  the 
power. 

Thus  one  can  see  how  all  ambition  and  industry 
is  nipped  in  the  bud.  So  long  as  one  remains  con- 
tent and  passive,  life  goes  happily  for  him,  but  let 
him  beware  and  refrain  from  all  upward  striving. 

There  is  a  common  saying  that,  The  witches 
make  the  best  Christians,  and  there  is  more  than 
a  grain  of  truth  in  the  saying,  for  the  majority  of 
witches  are  so  branded,  for  reasons  similar  to 
the  instances  cited,  and  are  industrious,  ambitious 
people.  Under  Siamese  law  they  cannot  be  further 
persecuted  when  they  become  Christians,  or  rather 
cannot  be  lawfully  persecuted.  So  Christian  homes 


CHAUS   AND   SERFDOM  127 

are  noted  for  their  cleanliness,  order,  and  simple 
evidences  of  thrift;  this,  because  of  the  excellent 
combination  of  the  natural  instincts  with  the  revo- 
lutionary po"Ter  of  their  new  faith. 

At  one  time  we  had  hired  a  new  man  for 
watchman.  The  second  day  he  came  in  hurriedly, 
dropped  to  his  knees,  and  begged  us  to  forgive  him, 
but  he  would  have  to  leave  us  at  once  as  Chau  B — 
had  called  him  for  corvee,  and  he  must  go  that 
very  minute. 

My  family  wash  was  always  done  in  a  laundry- 
shed  in  the  back  yard.  I  had  noticed  at  several 
different  times  on  ironing  days,  that  there  were 
jackets  on  the  line  that  were  not  mine,  but  had 
supposed  that  they  belonged  to  my  washerwoman. 
One  day  I  happened  to  pass  near  them  and  ob- 
served that  they  were  trimmed  with  costly  lace.  I 
inquired  as  to  whom  they  belonged,  and  after  much 
questioning  found  that  they  were  the  property  of 
a  young  princess  whom  I  knew  to  be  very  wealthy. 
"What  does  she  give  you  for  this  work?"  I  asked. 
"Oh,  nothing  at  all.  She  just  tells  me  that  I  do 
this  for  her  now,  and  that  any  time  that  I  get  into 
trouble  and  go  to  her,  that  she  will  help  and  be- 
friend me."  This  same  princess  was  very  friendly 
with  the  ladies  of  our  mission,  and  would  often  send 
us  tokens  of  her  friendship  and  esteem,  after  the 
custom  of  the  land.  Before  we  would  know  that 
melons  were  ripe,  a  large  basketful  would  come 
down  from  her.  The  same  as  to  custard  apples  in 
their  season,  immense  savory  ones,  such  as  we  never 
saw  elsewhere.  The  rice  that  she  sent  was  like 


128  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

unto  none  other,  so  sweet  was  it  to  the  taste. 
Truly,  the  first  and  the  best  of  the  land  is  theirs  ! 

When  not  appearing  before  the  public  eye,  the 
chaits  live  as  simply  as  do  the  peasant  class,  eating 
rice  and  curry  and  dressing  in  next  to  nothing. 
But  when  dressed  for  a  gala  occasion  they  are  ele- 
gantly and  richly  attired,  the  oriental  love  of  color 
and  show  being  allowed  full  play.  They  move 
about  with  large  retinues,  and  have  carried  before 
them  their  gold  betel  set  consisting  of  several 
pieces,  gold  flower  stands  filled  with  fragrant 
blooms,  and  pillows  or  cushions  embroidered  in 
gold  and  silver  threads,  upon  which  they  may  rest 
an  elbow  when  seated.  Laos  chaus,  like  Siamese 
royalty,  present  a  most  imposing  appearance  when 
before  the  public  eye.  Grand  displays  of  the 
princely  class  are  very  gratifying  to  the  peasants. 
It  inspires  them  with  a  feeling  of  national  pride. 
Besides,  at  all  public  occasions,  the  chaus  throw 
money  to  the  crowd,  and  entertain  the  people  with 
free  displays,  theatrical  in  nature,  with  dancing, 
music,  and  pugilistic  contests,  sword  dances,  and 
such  popular  amusements.  After  a  day  so  spent  a 
peasant  will  stretch  himself  upon  his  mat  at  night, 
and  feel  that,  after  all,  his  liege  lord  is  the  best  man 
on  earth,  and  that  he  had  been  very  mean  and  un- 
grateful to  begrudge  to  him  those  cocoanuts  he 
had  sent  for  last  week. 

When  Prince  Damrong,  Minister  to  the  Interior, 
and  brother  to  the  king,  made  a  tour  of  the  Laos 
provinces  in  1898,  a  change  swept  over  the  nobility 
of  the  land  like  a  whiff  of  ozone,  Before  his  com- 


CHAUS   AND    SERFDOM  I2Q 

ing  not  a  chau  was  idle,  but  all  with  one  accord 
were  seeing  to  the  brushing  up  of  their  palaces,  the 
improvement  of  roads,  building  of  bridges,  the  put- 
ting away  of  fraud  and  dark  records  into  corners 
where  they  tremblingly  prayed  that  they  might  not 
be  uncovered.  Court  records  were  overhauled,  ac- 
counts balanced,  jails  looked  into,  and  a  general 
house-cleaning  of  the  land  gone  through  with,  so 
that  when  at  last  he  stood  in  the  Laos  country  he 
beheld  her  in  her  reception  gown.  But  he  was 
not  deceived,  for  Prince  Damrong  is  every  inch  a 
man,  and  has  real  insight  into  conditions  that  no 
amount  of  veneering  can  conceal.  All  who  have 
the  welfare  of  the  Laos  at  heart  look  to  this  prince 
with  high  hopes.  But  he  struggles  against  fearful 
odds,  for  his  love  of  order  and  punctuality  and 
routine  and  good  government  brings  upon  his  head 
the  bitter  enmity  of  some  of  his  compeers  at  the 
capital. 

The  ancient  Laos  laws,  as  they  are  written  in 
the  statute  books,  are  good  and  just,  the  ad- 
ministration of  them  is  what  is  unfair  and  burden- 
some. Colquhoun  puts  it  aptly  when  he  gives  as 
the  diplomatic  receipt  the  following: — 

"Delay,  delay,  delay  again  and  again  and  if 
pressed,  ask  as  a  last  resource,  for  the  advice  of 
the  person  who  is  pressing  you;  then  say  that  you 
must  refer  it  to  headquarters;  and  thus  keep  the 
ball  rolling,  until  he,  perhaps,  gives  it  up,  in  despair 
of  ever  getting  to  the  bottom  of  your  diplomacy." 

It  is  openly  acknowledged  that  bribery  is  in  or- 
der, and  the  people  have  come  to  look  upon  it  as 
9 


I3O  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

one  of  the  necessary  and  right  adjuncts  of  a  case. 
Crime  is  comparatively  rare,  and  capital  punish- 
ment is  seldom  inflicted.  The  severest  penalty 
next  to  beheading  is  condemning  the  offender  for 
life  to  the  cutting  of  grass  for  elephants. 

At  present  this  condition  of  affairs  is  in  a  tran- 
sition state.  The  king,  through  his  commissioners, 
is  abolishing  the  old  code  of  laws  and  placing  in 
their  stead  the  Siamese  code,  which  is  founded 
upon  the  common  law  of  England.  The  feudal 
system  has  been  broken,  so  far  as  a  royal  decree  can 
abolish  an  institution  venerable  with  age.  But,  like 
the  decrees  against  slavery,  time  will  be  required 
to  make  them  a  power.  A  poll  tax  has  been  levied 
and  other  changes  made,  all  of  which  mark  the  be- 
ginning of  better  days  for  the  future.  The  present, 
however,  feels  only  the  unrest  of  the  change. 

"Your  sins  have  withholden  good  from  you." 

has  been  verified  in  this  little  land.  The  secret  of 
the  national  sorrows  of  this  people  are  all  found  in 
that  one  word  of  three  letters,  s-i-n.  The  rulers  sin 
when  judged  by  their  own  standards  and  code  of 
morals,  and  they  know  that  they  sin,  yet  they  blush 
not,  but  hug  their  sins  the  closer.  Woe  be  to  the 
nations  who  know  not  the  Lord ! 


CHAPTER  X 

CHARACTERISTICS  AND  AMUSEMENTS 

THERE  is  a  Buddhist  maxim  that  says:  "It  is  a 
sin  in  laughing  to  raise  the  voice."  This  seems  to 
be  the  keynote  for  conversation  as  well.  A  Chinese 
market  place  will  well-nigh  drive  a  foreigner  crazy 
by  the  babel  of  tongues,  high-pitched  voices,  and 
too  often  of  a  contentious  nature.  Siamese  mar- 
kets are  not  so  bad,  and  Laos  markets  are  quiet 
and  orderly.  In  the  immense  market  of  Chieng 
Mai  where  men,  women,  and  children  are  bartering, 
buying,  and  selling,  one  seldom  hears  a  high  voice 
or  excited  tones.  There  is  a  low  murmur  of  voices, 
like  the  rippling  of  a  hidden  brook,  broken  here  and 
there  by  a  merry,  gentle  laugh.  An  American  can 
go  through  this  market  at  the  busiest  time,  about 
two  hours  after  sunrise,  can  bargain  and  buy  and 
return  home  with  nerves  as  perfectly  tuned  as 
when  he  left. 

Markets  are  an  interesting  phase  of  Laos  life.  In 
the  larger  cities  there  are  always  market  stalls 
which  are  open  all  day.  These  stalls  are  like  those 
which  tourists  see  in  the  native  quarters  of  all  ori- 
ental ports,  consisting  of  a  room  opening  at  the 
front  upon  the  street.  The  purchaser  standing  in 
the  street  can  view  the  whole  stock  in  hand.  The 
family  of  the  proprietor  of  the  establishment  lives 
in  a  room  at  the  rear.  Or  more  correctly,  they  live 


132  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SI  AM 

in  the  shop  and  sleep  in  the  rear.  But  the  vast 
majority  of  the  markets  are  portable.  In  the  early 
dawn,  women,  with  a  sprinkling  of  men,  can  be 
seen  coming  from  all  directions  toward  the  market 
street.  Across  the  shoulders  is  laid  a  highly  pol- 
ished strip  of  bamboo,  from  which  hangs  at  each 
end  a  basket.  These  baskets  are  lined  up  down  the 
center  or  at  the  sides  of  the  street,  their  owners 
squatting  beside  them.  The  women  are  carefully 
dressed,  and  their  smiling  faces  and  gracefully  ad- 
justed scarfs  suggest  that  their  trade  is  not  a  sordid 
task,  but  a  most  agreeable  occupation.  There  is 
much  color  about  the  scene,  for  scarfs,  skirts,  and 
pa  tois  are  bright,  and  the  coal-black,  neatly-dressed 
hair  of  the  women  glances  like  silver  as  it  catches 
the  sunlight.  There  is  much  chatting,  pleasant 
passing  of  jokes,  and  exchange  of  news.  But 
when  the  sun  has  climbed  up  some  three  hours  into 
the  heavens  the  group  is  scattered,  the  women 
hurrying  home  to  their  household  cares  and  their 
children.  A  group  of  dogs  and  a  flock  of  crows 
soon  remove  every  trace  of  the  bright  busy  scene 
of  a  few  minutes  ago.  All  towns  do  not  have  a 
daily  market,  but  have  one  every  other  day  or 
twice  a  week  or  every  five  days. 

A  stranger  will  say  to  a  Laos:  "Why  do  you  do 
that?"  and  he  will  reply:  "Because  it  is  our  cus- 
tom." The  answer  is  entirely  satisfactory  to  him. 
There  could  be  no  stronger  reason  for  action.  To 
illustrate.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the 
country,  from  the  palace  to  the  hut,  upon  arising  in 
the  morning,  walks  to  the  water  jar  at  the  end  of  the 


CHARACTERISTICS   AND   AMUSEMENTS  133 

veranda  and,  picking  up  the  cocoanut  dipper,  rinses 
out  the  mouth,  usually  gargles  the  throat  and  then 
takes  a  heavy  draught.  I  have  never  found  a  person 
who  could  give  a  reason  for  this  save  that  "It  is 
our  custom."  They  do  not  realize  that  they  are 
thereby  complying  with  one  of  the  best  of  hygenic 
laws.  "It  is  our  custom,"  and  they  have  never 
given  the  matter  a  thought  back  of  that.  So  long 
have  they  walked  with  veneration  in  the  ways  of 
their  fathers  that  custom  has  become  to  them  a 
god.  Yet,  this  being  true,  they  are  not  conserva- 
tive like  the  Chinese.  Their  veneration  of  the  past 
seems  to  be  born  of  isolation  more  than  of  a  desire 
to  preserve  what  is  established.  It  might  be 
termed  a  negative  conservatism,  while  that  of  the 
Chinese  is  active,  positive.  But  even  then,  one  can 
readily  see  that  the  condition  would  lull  to  sleep 
inventive  genius  and  progress. 

A  mission  teacher  once  asked  a  boy  what  was 
his  idea  of  heaven.  He  thought  a  minute  and  then 
replied:  "It  is  like  this.  A  large  shade  tree  that 
casts  a  cool  shadow  under  which  I  can  lie  and  have 
some  one  fan  me,  and  bring  me  water  and  wait  on 
me  generally."  Then  he  added  after  a  mo- 
ment's thought,  "And  you  know,  I  must  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do."  A  wise  man  has  said 
that,  "Goodness  without  self-sacrifice  is  not  a 
virtue."  Then  this  people  is  certainly  not  very 
virtuous,  for  little  or  no  self-sacrificing  is  done. 
The  child's  idea  of  heaven  is  the  wish  of  every 
heart  for  this  life  as  well.  Yet,  the  people  are  open- 
hearted,  there  being  few  really  destitute  poor  in 


134  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

the  land.  Orphans  are  always  gladly  taken  into 
the  hearts  and  homes  of  some  family.  There  are 
few,  beggars,  except  lepers,  which  class  is  gen- 
erously provided  for  by  alms.  I  knew  of  one  beg- 
gar, a  blind  boy.  The  case  was  investigated  and  it 
was  discovered  that  his  daily  collection  of  pennies 
and  food  was  supporting  three  large  families  in 
idleness.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  these  families  were 
not  of  the  peasant  class,  but  were  slaves  settled  off 
to  earn  their  own  livelihood. 

One  would  expect  to  find  in  a  simple  people  like 
the  Laos  a  love  of  amusement,  but  there  is  not  the 
passion  for  it  that  exists  among  the  Siamese.  There 
are  many  great  national  rejoicings  throughout  the 
year.  The  New  Year  festival  which  falls  about  the 
time  of  Easter  each  spring  is  not  only  observed  by 
the  Laos  and  Siamese,  but  also  by  Cambodians  and 
Peguans.  They  give  up  three  days  to  the  rejoic- 
ing, which  consists  of  works  of  merit,  merrymak- 
ings and  pleasures  of  various  kinds.  Gambling  is 
indulged  in  freely  by  all,  for  there  is  full  license  to 
engage  in  it,  the  gambling  farmers  having  no 
power  to  interfere.  So  completely  is  the  land 
given  over  to  observing  these  days  that  as  many 
more  are  required  afterwards  for  the  people  to  re- 
cover from  the  effects  of  their  dissipation.  At  this 
time  the  temples  are  thronged  with  men  and  women 
bringing  offerings  of  fruit,  food,  and  clothing  to 
the  monks.  Many  of  the  chaus  have  special  enter- 
tainments at  their  palaces,  providing  amusements 
of  various  kinds  for  the  people  and  making  special 
offerings  to  the  monks  who  grace  the  occasion.  The 


CHARACTERISTICS   AND   AMUSEMENTS  135 

king  himself  observes  these  holidays  with  much 
ceremony,  and  he  has  stationed  about  his  city  walls 
companies  of  monks  who  perform  exorcisms  in  con- 
cert. On  the  night  of  the  second  day,  the  I5th  of 
the  moon,  guns,  large  and  small,  are  fired  from  the 
walls  at  certain  intervals  all  night  long,  this,  for  the 
purpose  of  driving  away  evil  spirits  and  to  assure 
blessings  during  the  coming  year. 

These  holidays  end  among  the  Laos  with  water- 
pouring  or  throwing,  which'  is  symbolical  of  felicity 
and  blessings.  Children  gather  about  their  parents 
and  the  eldest  pours  upon  their  heads  perfumed 
water.  This  is  also  done  to  the  venerable  person- 
ages of  the  village  or  town  and  to  the  chaus.  They 
oftentimes  step  down  into  the  river,  there  having  the 
water  poured  over  them.  The  young  people  in- 
dulge in  a  frolic  of  water-throwing.  They  make 
squirt  guns  of  bamboo  by  means  of  which  they  can 
shoot  water  upon  wayfarers.  If  a  person  be  nicely 
dressed  special  attention  is  paid  to  him. 

The  Loy  Katong  holidays  occur  in  the  fall  after 
the  crops  are  harvested,  and  would  be  a  very  beau- 
tiful custom  if  it  could  be  disentangled  from  the 
superstition  which  gives  it  birth.  The  holiday  con- 
sists in  sending  adrift  upon  streams  tiny  craft  of 
all  kinds,  brilliantly  illumined  with  tapers,  these  as 
an  offering  to  the  water  spirits.  The  crafts  usually 
contain  flowers,  rice,  tapers,  sweetmeats,  incense 
sticks,  and  such  things.  Much  time  is  necessary 
to  prepare  the  little  craft  for  their  brief  journey. 
They  are  carefully  made  from  the  stalk  of  banana 
plants,  and  are  sometimes  a  foot  in  length,  and 


136  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

again  several  feet.  The  larger  the  stream  and  more 
numerous  the  population,  the  more  imposing  is  the 
display.  At  the  large  cities,  as  Bangkok  and 
Chieng  Mai,  night  is  turned  into  day  by  the  bril- 
liant display.  At  the  palace  several  royal  barges, 
fashioned  after  dragons,  are  sent  downstream  on 
one  side  and  are  then  slowly  towed  up  on  the  other. 
A  specially  acceptable  offering  at  this  time  is  the 
bloom  of  the  sacred  lotus  set  thickly  with  burning 
tapers.  Altogether,  the  scene  is  bewitchingly  beau- 
tiful. 

The  end  of  the  three  months  of  the  Buddhist 
Lent  is  also  an  occasion  of  much  rejoicing  and 
many  festivities.  The  whole  nation  is  then  intent 
upon  merit-making.  Chaus  make  visits  to  the  vari- 
ous monasteries,  with  much  ceremony  and  display, 
and  the  peasants  flock  there  with  their  simple  offer- 
ings of  food  and  flowers  and  yellow  robes.  The 
sacredness  of  a  temple  ground  does  not  exclude 
merrymaking,  dancing,  and  music,  and  just  with- 
out the  walls  there  is  liquor  and  gambling.  And  so 
ends  the  Buddhist  Lent. 

There  are  other  national  holidays,  chief  of  which 
is  his  majesty's  birthday.  And  there  are  scores 
of  provincial  holidays;  and  each  chau  of  high  rank 
sees  to  it  that  he  frequently  gives  a  gala  day  of  some 
sort  for  his  peasant  dependents.  It  is  well  to  add 
that  by  this  magnanimity  the  chau  lays  up  for  him- 
self merit  and  expects  to  receive  manifold  returns 
in  his  next  incarnation. 

One  of  the  most  popular  forms  of  amusement  is 
the  theater  called  lakawn.  It  is  very  different  from 


CHARACTERISTICS    AND    AMUSEMENTS  137 

an  American  theater  in  almost  every  respect.  First, 
there  is  no  admittance  fee.  Every  palace  has  its 
theatrical  troupe,  and  performances  are  given  to  en- 
tertain guests  and  to  pass  away  a  dull  evening. 
Reserved  seats  to  the  front  are  for  the  guests,  but 
the  populace  can  crowd  and  squeeze  into  the  rear 
until  there  is  not  an  inch  of  unoccupied  space  left. 
There  is  little  stage  setting,  and  one  is  reminded 
of  the  early  days  of  stage  life  in  London,  when  it 
was  necessary  to  placard  different  parts  of  the  stage, 
"This  is  a  house,"  or  "Here  is  a  street."  The  plays 
are  long  and  would  tire  an  American  to  distraction, 
but  not  so  a  Laos.  Much  of  the  acting  is  done  to 
music,  accompanied  by  the  chant  of  women's  voices. 
Very  unlike  our  early  drama,  the  actors  are  exclu- 
sively women,  who  are  trained  for  their  part  from 
earliest  childhood,  so  that  by  the  time  they  reach 
their  teens  they  are  capable  of  bending  and  twisting 
their  joints  in  a  most  alarming  manner,  which 
would  be  quite  enviable  to  a  "double-jointed" 
American.  The  best-trained  actors  in  the  nation 
are,  of  course,  found  in  the  palace  in  Bangkok. 
All  other  troupes  are  trained  and  modeled  after  this 
one.  Let  us  look  at  some  of  the  dancing  there  as 
seen  by  an  eye-witness,  an  English  lady,  who  lived 
in  the  palace  as  governess  for  many  years : — 

"All  day  long  the  girls  are  seen  exercising.  Some 
are  poised  on  tiptoe,  others  bending  their  arms  and 
limbs  back  as  far  as  they  will  reach,  and  again 
picking  up  bits  of  straw  with  their  eyelids.  This 
very  curious  and  subtle  feat  can  be  learned  only 
by  very  young  girls,  who  are  made  to  practice  it  in 


138  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

order  to  render  them  flexible  in  every  part  of  the 
body. 

"There  are  two  long  rows  of  benches,  one  a  little 
higher  than  the  other.  On  the  lower  are  placed  a 
row  of  little  girls,  very  scantily  dressed,  and  on  the 
other  bench  are  laid  finely-polished  bits  of  straw.  At 
the  sound  of  a  drum  the  little  girls  all  together 
bend  back  their  heads  and  necks  until  they  touch 
the  bits  of  straw,  and  which  with  wonderful  dexter- 
ity they  secure  between  the  corners  of  the  eyelids. 
It  often  takes  a  young  girl  three  or  four  years  of 
constant  practice  to  acquire  this  peculiar  flexibility 
of  form  and  movement. 

"Among  others  the  cup  dance  is  the  most  grace- 
ful and  poetic  of  their  dances.  A  row  of  young 
women,  with  a  tier  of  cups  on  their  heads,  take 
their  place  in  the  center  of  the  gymnasium.  A 
burst  of  joyous  music  follows.  On  hearing  this 
they  simultaneously,  with  military  precision,  kneel 
down,  fold  their  hands,  bow  until  their  foreheads 
almost  touch  the  polished  marble  floor,  keeping 
their  cups  steadily  on  the  tops  of  their  heads  by 
some  marvelous  jerk  of  the  neck.  Then,  suddenly 
springing  to  their  feet,  they  describe  a  succession 
of  rapid  and  intricate  circles,  keeping  time  with  the 
music  with  their  arms,  head,  and  feet. 

"Next  follows  a  miracle  of  art,  such  as  may  be 
found  only  among  people  of  the  highest  physical 
training.  The  music  swells  into  a  rapturous 
tumult.  The  dancers  raise  their  delicate  feet,  curve 
their  arms  and  figures  in  seeming  impossible  flex- 
ures, sway  to  and  fro,  like  withes  of  willow,  agi- 


CHARACTERISTICS   AND    AMUSEMENTS  139 

tate  all  the  muscles  of  the  body  like  the  flutter  of 
leaves  in  a  soft  evening  breeze,  but  still  keep  the 
tier  of  cups  on  their  heads.  These  to  the  looker-on 
present  the  strange  appearance  of  gliding  about 
the  dancers'  arms  and  limbs  as  they  float  about  the 
room."* 

The  plays  are  interspersed  with  dancing  of  the 
or^er  described  above.  The  music  is  furnished  by 
an  orchestra  composed  of  drums,  cymbals,  tom- 
toms, gongs,  bamboo  dulcimers,  and  other  stringed 
instruments.  These  are  played  in  tuneful  harmony, 
which  can  be  swelled  to  a  burst  of  sound  at  the 
various  crises  of  the  play  or  dance.  The  repetition 
of  the  tune  becomes  very  monotonous  to  a  for- 
eigner long  before  the  play  is  half  over.  Often  the 
plays  are  taken  from  old  Hindoo  myths  and  re- 
quire several  nights  to  complete  the  story.  Of  late 
it  has  become  very  popular  to  assume  the  role  of  an 
European  or  American,  and  in  a  good-natured  but 
pointed  way  expose  their  eccentricities  and  humor- 
ous characteristics,  much  to  the  amusement  and 
satisfaction  of  the  audience. 

In  the  summer  of  1898  it  was  noised  in  official 
circles  that  his  majesty  was  contemplating  a  visit 
to  the  provinces  in  the  near  future,  probably  the 
following  year.  This  was  exciting  news,  and  the 
chaus  began  at  once  to  prepare  for  his  coming. 
The  following  occurred  in  the  Lakawn  province, 
and  I  understood  that  Lakawn  was  one  with  all  the 
other  provinces  in  the  matter: — 


*  Mrs.  Leonowens,  in  The  Inner  City. 


I4O  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

Spies  were  sent  out  by  the  governor  to  spot  pretty 
girls  from  four  years  up  to  ten  or  twelve.  They 
were  followed  by  decoys,  who  were  skilled  in  their 
art.  The  trap  was  laid  according  to  conditions. 
Sometimes  a  brightly-colored  picture,  showing  the 
fame  their  child  would  bring  to  them,  would  be  all 
that  was  necessary  to  win  the  parents'  consent  that 
the  child  be  taken  to  the  palace.  Again,  a  few 
rupees,  with  a  promise  that  others  should  follow 
would  seal  the  bargain.  In  other  cases  it  was 
necessary  to  intimidate.  The  latter  was  nearly  al- 
ways successful.  But  usually  parents  were  loth 
to  give  up  their  wee  girls  to  a  life  of  sin  and  sorrow. 
They  knew  that  at  first  there  would  be  fame  and  the 
applause  of  man,  but  in  a  few  more  years  they  would 
be  pushed  aside,  old,  worn-out,  and  crushed. 

The  cry  that  went  up  over  the  land  was  pitiful 
and  heartrending.  Pleas  were  sent  in  from  vil- 
lages for  the  mission  school  to  be  opened  at  once 
so  that  the  girls  could  be  sent  to  its  sheltering  walls. 
Mothers  came  begging  that  we  would  intercede  and 
get  their  children  from  the  palace  for  them,  and 
went  away  bitter  in  heart  when  it  was  explained 
to  them  that  we  could  do  nothing  in  the  matter. 
Touring  in  the  heathen  villages  had  to  be  tempor- 
arily suspended,  as  an  audience  could  not  be  gath- 
ered. And  so  sorrow  and  distraction  reigned  until 
a  sufficient  number  of  girls  had  been  found  to 
gratify  lust  or  pride  of  the  chau,  and  cause  him  to 
rest  easy,  knowing  that  his  danseuses  would  be  un- 
rivaled in  the  provinces. 

One  of  the  most  glaring  characteristics  to  a  pass- 


CHARACTERISTICS    AND    AMUSEMENTS  14! 

er-by  is  the  Laos  love  of  games  of  chance.  It  is  ex- 
celled only  by  the  passion  of  the  Siamese  for  the 
same  thing.  The  last  copper  coin  will  be  staked 
upon  the  result  of  a  cockfight,  of  a  boat  race,  a 
boxing  match,  a  kite-flying  contest,  or,  in  short,  all 
actions  or  games  wherein  there  is  an  element  of 
chance.  It  is  not  considered  immoral  for  a  man 
to  bet  in  such  contests,  but  a  woman  is  ostracized 
by  her  sex  for  so  doing. 

There  is  a  popular  game  called  ba  taw.  It  is 
played  by  men  with  a  light  wicker  ball,  which  is 
hollow.  The  ball  is  tossed  in  air  and  kept  there 
by  the  players  kicking  it  with  the  foot,  preferably 
with  a  backward  movement.  The  hand  must  never 
be  used,  but  the  head  and  shoulders  can  come  into 
play.  There  is  no  scoring  of  points  and  the  play- 
ers may  leave  the  circle  at  will  and  others  join  it. 
The  "fancy  kicking"  of  expert  players  is  very  grace- 
ful, and  interesting  to  spectators. 

The  footfall  of  this  people  is  unusual.  It  is  so 
light  that  a  man's  approach  is  seldom  discerned  by 
a  foreigner,  until  a  soft  characteristic  cough  an- 
nounces his  presence.  They  can  creep  through 
the  forest  like  an  Indian.  I  have  often  watched 
them  when  we  would  be  camped  in  the  forest,  and 
wondered  how  it  was  possible  to  step  upon  dried 
twigs  and  leaves  and  yet  make  no  sound.  They 
pass  many  a  joke  among  themselves  at  the  way 
foreigners  hunt,  pushing  through  the  undergrowth 
like  a  "mad  boar,"  and  then  being  disappointed 
when  only  bears  or  wild  cattle  are  sighted,  when  a 
deer  or  tiger  was  wanted. 


142  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

Many  of  the  men  are  exceptionally  deft  with  their 
fingers  in  carving  wood.  The  woodwork  about 
the  palaces  is  elaborately  carved,  and  about  the 
peasant  homes  one  often  finds  gems  of  carved 
work,  such  as  handles  to  dippers  and  bamboo  shoul- 
der strips  for  supporting  baskets.  Often  a  man 
can  be  seen  carving  a  stick,  which  is  held  firmly 
by  his  toes.  Both  men  and  women  are  clever  in 
picking  up  things  with  their  toes,  though  it  is  ill- 
bred  to  refer  in  any  way  to  the  feet  or  call 
attention  to  them.  An  object  is  never  kicked 
except  in  anger  or  contempt.  This  follows  from 
the  custom  of  going  with  bare  feet,  neverthe- 
less the  feet  are  usually  clean,  as  the  first  thing  a 
person  does  upon  entering  a  house  is  to  go  to  the 
water  jar  and  pour  water  over  his  feet. 

All  Shans  are  noted  for  their  geniality  and 
courteous  welcome  to  strangers  and  visitors,  and 
especially  so  are  the  Laos  Shans.  The  homes  are 
always  open,  and  a  genuine  welcome  is  extended. 
At  one  harvest  season,  I  asked  my  neighbor  how 
much  rice  he  put  away  in  his  bin  for  use  during 
the  year.  I  expressed  surprise  at  the  quantity,  and 
he  explained  that  his  family  alone  could  use  only  a 
little  more  than  half  that  quantity,  but  so  many 
were  always  coming  and  going  that  the  whole 
amount  was  consumed  in  the  year.  The  cleanest 
mat  is  always  spread  for  the  visitor,  the  best  in  the 
home  is  placed  at  his  disposal,  and  on  the  morrow 
as  he  is  ready  to  depart,  the  host  will  raise  his  folded 
hands  to  his  brow  and  utter  softly  the  word  chun, 
"invite,"  and  in  peace  the  guest  goes  on  his  way. 


CHAPTER  XI 

LANGUAGE  AND  A  TRIO  OF  UNIQUE  CUSTOMS 

TONAL  languages  are  interesting  to  us,  not  alone 
for  their  musical  sound,  but  because  they  are  built 
upon  entirely  different  principles  from  ours.  In 
the  Laos  tongue  there  are  no  inflections,  as  there 
is  almost  no  distinction  of  form  to  represent  per- 
son, number,  mood,  or  tense.  The  article  is  wholly 
lacking,  its  place  being  supplied  when  necessary  by 
ni,  "this";  or  nan,  "that."  There  is  no  plural  of 
nouns,  it  being  necessary  to  add  a  numeral  to  mark 
the  distinction,  namely:  gnoar  is  "cow."  To  ex- 
press the  plural,  one  must  say  gnoar  si  toar,  "cows, 
four  bodies" ;  or  if  indefinite  number  is  meant,  gnoar 
lai  toar,  "cows,  many  bodies."  There  is  no  conjuga- 
tion of  the  verb  save  by  auxiliaries,  and  these  aux- 
iliaries are  also  in  use  as  independent  words.  There 
is  no  declension  of  nouns,  but  cases  are  defined  by 
the  relative  position  of  the  word  in  the  sentence. 
There  is  a  glaring  lack  of  connective  participles, 
and  the  simple  conjunction  "and"  is  very  sparingly 
used. 

But  in  the  above  does  not  lie  the  chief  difficulty 
to  a  foreigner  of  mastering  the  language.  Instead, 
it  is  in  the  fact  that  the  language,  like  the  Chinese 
is  tonal,  i.  e.,  words  otherwise  identical  are  given  a 
different  meaning  by  a  change  in  tone.  Add  to  this 
the  ear  distinction  between  an  aspirate  consonant 

143 


144  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

and  an  unaspirate,  and  then  the  nicer  distinction 
between  a  long  and  a  short  vowel,  and  we  have  a 
language  to  acquire  which  one  must  depend  upon 
the  ear  almost  as  much  as  upon  the  mind.  The 
difficulty  of  distinguishing  words  is  not  so  great  as 
that  of  trying  to  reproduce  them.  It  is  a  common 
mistake  for  a  newcomer  to  order  his  hostler  to 
"saddle  my  dog,"  or  for  a  mistress  to  bid  her  maid 
"go  sell  the  door."  Such  blunders  may  be  very 
serious,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of  the  minister 
who,  in  reading  the  lesson  for  the  day,  said, 
"Knock,  and  it  shall  be  sold  unto  you" — or  the 
other  minister  who  intended  to  teach  a  band  of 
catechumens  to  sing,  "We  are  the  Lord's,"  but 
discovered  afterwards  that  he  had  sung  instead, 
"Our  pigs  are  the  Lord's." 

There  are  forty-eight  consonants  in  the  lan- 
guage, part  of  which  are  high  and  part  low  and 
four  irregular.  There  are  vowels  which  combine 
with  these.  They  are  combined  in  numerous  ways 
to  form  words,  and  their  number  multiplied  into 
the  thousands  by  the  use  of  tones.  There  are,  in 
all,  eight  tones;  the  low  explosive,  straightforward, 
falling,  emphatic,  circumflex,  high  explosive,  ris- 
ing, depressed,  and  short-circumflex.  The  last 
tone  is  the  most  difficult  to  imitate;  and  it  is  the 
added  tone  which  the  Siamese  do  not  have  in  their 
vernacular. 

The  words  are  monosyllabic,  except  those  which 
are  derived  from  the  Pali.  There  is  a  nice  distinc- 
tion in  the  use  of  pronouns  as  regards  the  social 
standing  of  persons  referred  to.  A  person  addresses 


A  TRIO    OF   UNIQUE   CUSTOMS  145 

his  equal  with  one  pronoun,  his  superior  with  an- 
other, and  his  inferior  with  still  another.  A  for- 
eigner thus  often  offends  unintentionally  in  speak- 
ing to  a  chaiij  or  officer,  as  though  he  were  a  slave. 
There  is  as  great  a  distinction  between  the 
vocabulary  applicable  to  peasant  life,  and  that  of 
the  court  as  exists  between  that  of  a  college-bred 
man  and  of  a  country  schoolboy.  There  are,  also, 
found  many  differences  of  dialect  in  adjacent  prov- 
inces; but  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  lan- 
guage at  the  capital,  Chieng  Mai,  is  the  purest,  and 
should  be  the  standard  for  the  whole. 

There  are  many  words  and  expressions  which 
are  poetically  pariphrastic.  The  word  for  content 
is  "good  heart,"  anxiety  being  "hot  heart."  The 
will  is  called  "heart  water,"  and  thunder  is  "sky 
calling."  To  eat  a  meal  is  referred  to  as  "eating 
rice";  and  death  by  the  Christian  natives,  as  "God 
has  called." 

There  is  a  nicety  of  distinction  in  words  which 
reveals  the  exact  relationship  of  the  person  referred 
to.  If,  for  instance,  one  asks,  "Have  you  a  sister?" 
the  reply  will  be,  "I  have  an  older  sister,"  or,  "I 
have  a  younger  sister,"  as  the  case  may  be.  Or 
if  one  refers  to  an  aunt,  the  listener  knows  at  once 
whether  the  aunt  is  on  the  maternal  or  paternal 
side. 

In  proper  names  there  is  little  difference  made 
between  the  choice  of  names  for  girls  and  boys. 
A  baby  girl  may  be  fondly  named  Di,  "good,"  and 
in  the  next  house  the  wee  boy  may  bear  the  same 
name.  If  a  baby  is  very  red  in  infancy  it  is  dubbed 
10 


146  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

Deng,  "red,"  irrespective  of  sex,  or  if  it  is  unusually 
dark  it  is  called  Dam,  "black."  There  is  a  prefix 
to  names  which  distinguishes  sex,  but  that  will  be 
spoken  of  later.  One  peculiar  name  for  a  child 
is  La,  "last."  When  parents  think  that  they  have 
a  sufficiently  large  family  they  will  name  the  baby 
La,  and  think  the  matter  is  settled.  So  one  is  often 
surprised  to  see  La  washing  the  face  of  her 
younger  sister  and  swinging  the  cradle  of  her  baby 
brother  at  the  same  time. 

There  are  three  Laos  customs  which  deserve  spe- 
cial mention  for  their  uniqueness.  They  are  the 
systems  of  prefixes  to  proper  names,  tattooing,  and 
cremation.  We  will  refer  to  them  in  their  order. 

As  there  are  no  surnames  and  a  limited  number 
of  given  names  the  matter  of  identifying  a  person 
simply  by  the  name  is  impossible.  That  does  not 
necessarily  distinguish  even  the  sex.  So  a  method 
of  prefixes  is  resorted  to,  which  at  any  rate  is  in- 
genious, and  in  a  measure  modifies  the  difficulty. 
All  boys  bear  the  prefix  Ai  to  their  name  until  they 
enter  the  temple  life,  when  it  is  dropped.  If  a  man 
never  enters  the  temple  he  always  remains  an  Ai.  If 
a  lad  leaves  the  temple  before  he  is  twenty,  he  has 
the  title  Noi  prefixed  to  his  name,  and  is  considered 
a  fairly  well-educated  person,  for  he  can  read  and 
write,  and  knows  a  few  Pali  words.  Or  if  he  should 
remain  until  after  he  is  twenty  the  title  Nan  is 
given,  and  he  is  looked  upon  with  esteem  by 
his  fellow-villagers.  Thus  the  mere  mention  of  a 
name  designates  his  degree  of  education,  so  far  as 
the  slight  knowledge  taught  may  be  termed 


A  TRIO   OF  UNIQUE  CUSTOMS  147 

"education."  Elderly  men  are  called  Lung,  and  it 
is  proper  to  call  such  a  person  either  by  his  name 
prefixed  by  Lung,  or  by  his  title  prefixed  by  the 
same,  for  instance,  either  Lung  Keo,  or  Lung  Nan 
Keo,  is  correct. 

It  is  obvious  that  even  with  this  aid  of  prefixes, 
a  man's  identity  may  be  obscure,  so  it  is  customary 
to  add  the  village  or  occupation  of  a  man  after  his 
name. 

The  names  of  women  are  prefixed  in  a  similar 
manner,  only  the  change  has  to  do  with  age,  and 
differs  somewhat  in  various  provinces.  The  gen- 
eral rule  is  the  same.  Little  girls  are  called  /,  and 
young  women  Nang.  Married  women  are  Ui,  and 
elderly  women  Me  Tail,  literally,  "mother  old." 
The  term  is  one  of  greatest  respect.  As  there  are 
no  surnames,  of  course,  by  marriage,  there  is  no 
change  of  name  of  either  party. 

Tattooing  is  a  custom  that  savors  strongly  of 
the  barbarous,  but  one  which  is  a  badge  of  re- 
spectability and  manhood  among  the  people. 
Nearly  every  man  has  his  body  tattooed  from  the 
waist  line  to  the  knee  or  a  little  above  or  below  the 
knee:  and  in  a  very  few  localities  from  the  neck  to 
ankle.  The  design  varies  with  the  locality  or  clan, 
and  a  native  can  tell  by  the  general  design  where  a 
man  hails  from.  Sometimes  the  design  is  wrought 
in  parallel,  horizontal  bands,  again  in  conventional 
designs,  again  in  figures  of  apes,  elephants,  or  such 
creatures,  the  intervening  space  being  filled  with 
tracery,  and  still  again  in  solid  color,  the  whole 
resembling  at  a  distance  a  pair  of  dark  knee  trous- 


148  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

ers.  The  origin  of  this  custom  is  unknown, 
though  many  believe  it  to  have  been  a  kind  of 
charm  to  make  their  bodies  invulnerable.  Cer- 
tainly the  following  story  taken  from  the  Pongsa 
Wadan,  or  history  of  Siam,  supports  that  surmise : — 

"In  the  year  of  the  Cock,  1019  (A.  D.  1658),  the 
King  of  Siam  hearing  wonderful  tales  about  France 
from  a  French  ship  captain,  determined  to  send  an 
embassy  there,  which  only  escaped  being  devoured 
by  a  whirlpool  through  their  magician  raising  a 
wind  which  carried  the  vessel  out  of  its  gaping 
mouth.  When  the  ambassadors  arrived,  they  told 
the  story  of  the  adventure  to  the  French  king. 
Sometime  after  this,  the  king  sent  for  the  am- 
bassadors to  come  into  the  royal  presence.  He 
then  ordered  a  company  of  five  hundred  French 
soldiers,  all  good  marksmen,  to  be  drawn  up  and 
placed  in  two  ranks,  directly  facing  each  other — 
two  hundred  and  fifty  on  each  side.  They  fired 
simultaneously,  and  each  man  on  either  side  lodged 
his  ball  in  the  barrel  of  the  gun  in  the  hands  of 
the  man  opposite  to  him  without  a  single  failure. 

"The  king  then  asked  them  if  they  had  any  as 
good  soldiers,  sharpshooters,  as  these  in  Siam? 
The  chief  ambassador  answered  that  the  King  of 
Siam  did  not  esteem  this  kind  of  skill  in  the  art 
as  worth  much  in  war.  When  the  French  king 
heard  this  he  was  displeased,  and  asked  them  what 
kind  of  skill  in  soldiers  did  the  King  of  Siam  value? 
The  ambassador  answered:  'The  King  of  Siam  ad- 
mires soldiers  who  are  well  skilled  in  the  magic 
arts,  and  such  as,  if  good  marksmen  like  your 


A  TRIO   OF   UNIQUE   CUSTOMS  149 

majesty's  soldiers  here  would  fire  at  them,  the  balls 
would  not  touch  their  bodies.  His  majesty,  the 
King  of  Siam,  has  some  soldiers  who  can  go  un- 
seen into  the  midst  of  the  battle,  and  cut  off  the 
heads  of  the  officers  and  men  in  the  enemies'  ranks 
and  return  unharmed.  He  has  others  who  can 
stand  under  the  weapons  of  the  enemy  to  be  shot 
at,  or  pierced  with  swords  and  spears,  and  yet  not 
receive  the  least  wound  or  injury.  Soldiers  skilled 
in  this  kind  of  art,  the  King  of  Siam  values  very 
highly  and  keeps'  them  for  use  in  the  country.' 

"The  King  of  France  did  not  believe  this  story, 
and  remarked  that  the  Siamese  ambassadors  were 
boasting  beyond  all  reason.  The  king  then  de- 
manded if  they  had  any  soldiers  skilled  in  this  kind 
of  art  along  with  them  in  the  ship  and  could  they 
give  him  a  specimen  of  their  art? 

"The  ambassadors  answered,  'The  soldiers  wq 
have  along  for  use  in  the  vessel  are  but  common 
soldiers;  but  we  can  give  your  majesty  a  specimen 
of  their  skill.'  The  king  asked,  'What  can  they 
do?'  The  ambassador  said,  'I  beg  your  majesty 
to  arrange  this  company  of  five  hundred  soldiers — 
sharpshooters — in  a  position  far  off  and  near  as 
you  please  to  fire  at  my  soldiers,  and  they  will  ward 
off  the  bullets,  and  not  suffer  a  single  one  to  touch 
them.' 

"When  the  King  of  France  heard  this  proposal, 
fearing  lest  his  soldiers  should  kill  the  Siamese, 
and  thereby  destroy  the  treaty  of  friendship  about 
to  be  formed  between  them,  he  was  unwilling  to 
make  the  trial.  The  ambassador  then  answered: 


I5O  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

'Your  majesty  need  not  fear  in  the  least.  My  sol- 
diers really  have  an  art  by  which  they  can  ward  off 
the  bullets,  and  not  suffer  one  of  them  to  touch 
them.  If  it  please  your  majesty,  then,  to-morrow 
let  them  prepare  a  platform  here  having  an  awning 
of  white  cloth,  and  surrounded  with  flags,  and 
place  upon  the  platform  some  refreshments  and 
wine;  .then  spread  the  word,  and  let  all  the  people 
of  the  town  come  to  witness  my  feat/ 

"The  king  then  prepared  all  these  things  as  was 
requested.  The  following  day  the  ambassador  re- 
quested his  magic  teacher  to  select  and  prepare 
sixteen  persons  and  clothe  them  entirely  with  the 
panoply  of  figures  (tattooing)  for  making  the  per- 
sons invulnerable — the  teacher  and  all  together  sev- 
enteen persons.  When  everything  was  ready  they 
came  into  the  presence  of  the  king  and  took  seats 
upon  the  platform.  He  then  addressed  the  king: 
'If  it  please  your  majesty,  let  these  five  hundred 
sharpshooters  shoot  these  seventeen  persons  seated 
upon  the  platform.'  The  king  then  commanded 
the  soldiers  to  fire. 

"The  French  soldiers  then  fired  several  rounds, 
some  at  a  distance  and  some  near,  but  the  powder 
would  not  ignite,  and  their  guns  made  no  report. 
Those  seventeen  persons,  uninjured,  partook  of  the 
refreshments  upon  the  platform  without  the  least 
fear  or  confusion.  The  French  soldiers  were  won- 
derfully surprised  and  startled.  The  magic  teacher 
then  said:  'Don't  be  discouraged;  fire  again.  This 
time  we  will  allow  the  guns  to  go  off.'  The  sol- 
diers then  fired  another  round.  Their  guns  went 


A    TRIO    OF    UNIQUE    CUSTOMS  151 

off,  but  the  bullets  fell  to  the  ground,  some  near 
where  they  stood,  some  a  little  distance  off,  and 
some  fell  near  the  platform,  but  not  a  single  man 
was  injured. 

"When  the  King  of  France  saw  this  he  believed 
all  the  Siamese  ambassadors  had  said,  and  praised 
their  arts  very  much,  remarking  he  had  never  seen 
anything  to  equal  it.  He  then  presented  the  Siam- 
ese soldiers  with  money  and  with  clothes  as  a  re- 
ward, and  also  feasted  them  bountifully.  From 
this  time  forward  the  king  believed  everything  the 
ambassadors  said.  He  did  not  doubt  a  single 
word."* 

This  may  not  be  satisfactory  to  our  practical 
unimaginative  minds,  but  it  is  fully  so  to  this 
credulous,  poetic  people.  In  reality,  the  tattooing 
is  begun  soon  after  a  youth  has  entered  his  teens 
and  marks  a  transition  from  youth  to  young  man- 
hood. It  is  done  in  patches,  as  the  operation  is 
tedious  and  painful,  it  being  necessary  to  drug  the 
patient  with  an  opiate.  Death  often  results  from 
the  operation  or,  more  correctly,  from  the  over- 
drugging.  The  pain  is  referred  to  with  manly  in- 
difference, and  a  youth  is  careful  to  adjust  his  pa 
toi  so  as  to  reveal  the  patches  already  tattooed. 

The  method  of  tattooing  varies  with  the  locality, 
but  there  are  two  schools  which  have  the  predom- 
inance. With  one  of  these,  the  outline  is  traced 
with  a  delicate  hair  pencil.  "The  pattern  is  then 
tattooed  in  by  a  series  of  closely  adjoining  punc- 


*  From  Colquhoun's  Amongst  the  Shans. 


152  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SI  AM 

tures  made  by  a  long,  pointed  style,  with  a  weight 
at  the  top,  worked  with  the  right  hand,  and  guided 
by  the  left,  which  rests  on  the  patient's  body,  with 
the  forefinger  and  thumb  so  joined  as  to  form  a 
sort  of  groove  for  the  style  to  work  in.  The  style 
is  of  brass,  and  consists  of  three  or  four  portions, 
the  bottom  piece,  which  is  solid,  is  pointed  like 
an  ordinary  lead  pencil,  and  divided  by  two  slips  at 
right  angles  to  each  other,  carried  up  for  about 
three  inches  from  the  point;  these  are  fine  near  the 
point,  and  about  one-thirty-second  part  of  an 
inch  broad  higher  up;  these  slits  enable  it  to  re- 
tain the  coloring  matter.  The  next  joint,  or  two 
joints  if  there  be  four,  is  a  hollow  tube,  and  the  last 
is  either  solid,  or  has  a  brass  weight  at  the  upper 
end,  sometimes  plain  and  sometimes  fashioned  like 
a  bird  or  animal,  in  order  to  give  weight  to  the 
tool."  The  coloring  matter  is  lampblack,  mixed 
with  cocoanut  oil  or  water. 

The  other  method  is  performed  by  making  punc- 
tures into  the  epidermis  with  a  number  of  small 
needles  bound  closely  together.  The  coloring  mat- 
ter is  then  rubbed  upon  the  surface,  the  punctures 
absorbing  it  permanently,  making  the  design  in- 
effaceable. 

This  practice  is  doomed  to  death  in  the  near 
future,  for  already  a  few  youths  who  have  grown 
up  under  the  influence  of  Christianity  have  refused 
to  be  tattooed ;  and  this,  without  any  direct  teach- 
ing on  the  subject  from  the  missionaries.  For  it  is 
not  the  policy  of  the  mission  to  preach  against  cus- 
toms which  do  not  involve  morals.  It  is  the  Spirit 


A   TRIO    OF    UNIQUE    CUSTOMS  153 

that  quickeneth,  and  the  entrance  of  his  word  that 
giveth  life;  and  with  that  foundation  all  the  super- 
structure will,  in  his  own  time,  be  rightly  adjusted, 
and  the  Laos  will  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
words  of  admonition  and  law  unto  the  Jews  that 
"Ye  shall  not  make  any  cuttings  in  your  flesh  for 
the  dead,  nor  print  any  marks  upon  you." 

The  third  unique  custom  we  will  speak  of  is  that 
of  cremation.  The  disposition  of  the  dead  has  been 
of  interest  to  mankind  ever  since  the  blow  was  dealt 
that  severed  the  soul  of  Abel  from  his  body. 
Legion  is  the  name  of  the  various  customs  that 
gather  about  the  dead,  from  the  heartless  custom 
of  some  fetish  tribes  who  simply  cast  out  the  body 
to  be  devoured  by  scavengers,  to  the  custom  of 
some  other  peoples  of  deifying  their  dead.  The 
Laos  illustrate  a  mean  between  these  extremes. 
The  custom  of  wailing  for  the  dead  prevails.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  heard  such  wails. 
We  were  camped  in  a  village;  the  evening  service 
was  over,  and  we  sat  in  our  tent  door  wrapped 
in  the  white  glow  of  a  tropical  moonlight,  and  deep 
in  thought,  thoughts  that  were  stirred  by  the  group 
of  heathen  men  and  women  who  had  just  dispersed 
after  having  heard  for  the  first  time  of  the  Way, 
the  Truth,  and  the  Life.  The  calm  was  broken 
suddenly  by  voices  uttering  piercing  wail  after  wail, 
the  echoes  of  which  were  soon  drowned  by  the 
mournful  howls  of  dogs  in  all  directions  that  joined 
in  a  chorus.  The  wails  did  not  cease,  and  we  could 
see  the  women  rocking  to  and  fro,  with  heads 
bowed  in  their  hands,  as  they  uttered  sobs  and 


154  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

lamentations,  and  ever  and  anon  tearing  wildly  at 
their  hair.  The  men  sat  dumb,  as  though  stupefied 
by  their  grief,  while  the  children  were  huddled 
closely  together  beside  the  fire. 

The  thoughtful  and  devout  always  secure  the 
presence  of  a  monk  at  the  deathbed.  He  recites 
passages  from  the  sacred  books,  which  few  under- 
stand, because  of  their  being  expressed  in  Pali 
instead  of  the  vernacular,  and  he  sprinkles  the  dying 
with  holy  water.  This  sprinkling  is  believed  to  be 
efficacious  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  unction  or 
anointing  of  the  dying  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
priests.  But  this  office  is  performed  not  in  a  true 
priestly  spirit,  but  is  done  by  the  monks  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  laying  up  merit  for  themselves. 

If  the  family  of  the  dead  is  very  poor  and  cannot 
afford  a  cremation,  the  body  is  tightly  wrapped  in 
a  cloth  and  either  laid  in  a  box  or  tied  in  a  mat 
It  is  then  lashed  to  a  pole  and  is  borne  to  the  forest 
on  the  shoulders  of  two  men.  There  a  shallow 
grave  is  dug,  the  body  buried,  and  the  spot  soon 
forgotten.  There  is  often  much  ceremony  about 
the  dead,  such  as  placing  a  coin  in  the  mouth  for 
the  spirit's  use,  and  food  and  clothing.  The  sor- 
row over  the  dead  is  genuine,  but  not  lasting.  A 
mother  said  to  me  at  one  time:  "When  my  baby 
died,  I  thought  I  should  die,  too,  I  wished  I  might 
die.  But  my  heart  is  now  comforted,  and  I  look 
back  and  wonder  at  my  grief." 

All  persons  dying  a  sudden  death,  or  from  a 
contagious  disease,  or  of  bowel  complaint,  or  a 
woman  dying  in  childbirth,  are  not  allowed  crema- 


A   TRIO    OF   UNIQUE   CUSTOMS  155 

tion.  They  must  be  buried.  The  reason  is  diffi- 
cult to  understand  in  its  exactness,  for  we  do  not 
see  and  feel  as  do  this  people.  But,  as  best  we 
can  express  it,  they  deem  that  death  in  such  cases 
was  caused  by  evil  spirits,  and  so  reproach  is  cast 
upon  the  victim,  and  respectable  cremation,  wherein 
is  merit,  must  be  denied  them.  In  these  cases,  the 
body  is  carried  to  the  forest  by  two  men,  who  are 
eager  for  a  few  coins,  and  is  disposed  of  in  all 
possible  haste. 

If  the  body  is  to  be  cremated  it  is  embalmed  as 
soon  as  life  is  extinct  by  a  native  process,  which  is 
simple,  but  most  effectual  in  its  results.  The  body 
is  then  laid  in  a  tight  coffin  with  preservative  spices 
about  it.  A  drip  hole  is  made  at  the  lower  end 
for  the  remaining  fluids  of  the  body  to  escape,  and 
at  the  opposite  end  a  small  stovepipe  arrangement 
is  erected  for  the  escape  of  fumes  and  gases.  This 
must  be  tall  enough  to  reach  up  through  the  thatch 
or  tile  roof.  The  coffin  is  placed  usually  in  a  pro- 
tected part  of  the  veranda.  It  is  covered  with  gay 
cloth  spangled  with  tinsel,  and  surrounded  with 
the  deceased's  betel  set  and  few  private  belong- 
ings. One  or  more  images  of  Buddha  are  placed 
about,  and  sometimes  lighted  tapers.  A  company 
of  monks  come  daily  to  recite  passages  from  the 
sacred  dhamma — Buddhist  law — and  to  receive  a  fee 
for  so  doing,  termed  by  themselves  as  "meritori- 
ously bestowed  gifts."  After  a  few  days  the  pres- 
ence of  the  corpse  does  not  cast  a  shadow  over 
the  family  life  nor  does  it  appreciably  taint  the 
atmosphere.  The  family  laugh  and  chat  and  plan 


156  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

for  the  cremation  with  genuine  interest.  This  is 
not  an  evidence  of  disrespect  to  the  dead;  to  the 
contrary,  for  every  effort  is  made  to  give  the  de- 
parted as  showy  and  elaborate  a  cremation  as  the 
purse  will  allow.  The  merit  of  so  doing  is  two- 
fold, and  must  be  shared  between  the  living  and 
the  dead,  the  amount  of  merit  being  gauged  by  the 
outward  splendor  of  the  performance. 

A  chau  of  great  wealth  often  keeps  a  corpse  from 
one  to  two  years,  but  ordinarily  a  few  months  is  as 
long  as  the  means  will  admit.  All  cremations  are 
alike  in  essentials,  the  differences  consisting  in  the 
amount  of  money  expended  to  make  the  affair  re- 
splendent with  oriental  glare  and  glitter.  During 
the  time  of  the  lying-in-state  of  the  corpse  prepara- 
tions for  the  burning  are  in  progress.  A  catafalque 
is  made  of  bamboo  and  other  light  combustible 
woods,  in  height  from  ten  to  thirty  feet.  This  is 
covered  gorgeously  with  cloths,  bright  paper,  tinsel, 
and  gold  leaf.  In  the  center  is  a  resting  place  for 
the  coffin.  The  placing  of  the  coffin  in  the  cata- 
falque is  accompanied  by  imposing  ceremonies  by 
the  monks. 

No  ceremony  is  looked  forward  to  with  more 
genuine  interest  and  pleasure  than  a  cremation. 
So  an  immense  crowd  gathers,  and  is  entertained 
alternately  with  boxing  games,  cockfights,  chanted 
recitations,  accompanied  by  music  and  dance,  jug- 
glery, side  shows,  and  other  such  displays  of  any- 
thing but  a  funereal  nature.  All  the  time,  relays  of 
monks  keep  up  in  soft,  musical  intonations,  the  reci- 
tation of  prayers  and  part  of  the  dhamma,  from 


A   TRIO    OF   UNIQUE    CUSTOMS  157 

which  exertion  they  afterwards  recuperate  by  join- 
ing in  the  festivities.  These  ceremonies  and  fes- 
tivities may  last  from  one  day  to  a  week,  and  then 
takes  place  the  burning.  The  catafalque  is  drawn 
on  a  sled  to  the  cremation  grounds.  The  rope  is 
long  so  that  a  host  can  share  the  merit  of  drag- 
ging it  away.  The  rope  finally  ends  in  a  silken 
thread,  which  is  held  in  the  hand  of  the  nearest 
relative  of  the  dead.  When  the  ground  is  reached 
more  ceremonies  are  gone  through  with  by  the 
monks.  A  dozen  or  more  long  strips  of  cloth  are 
gathered  at  one  of  their  ends  into  a  bunch  and 
thrust  into  the  coffin.  The  other  ends  are  held 
by  monks,  who  stand  the  length  of  the  strip  from 
the  coffin  in  a  circle.  They  chant  again  their  pray- 
ers for  the  dead,  and  in  some  mysterious  way  virtue 
passes  from  them  to  the  soul  of  the  departed.  And 
yet  Buddhism  declares  repeatedly  that  there  is  no 
soul,  and  that  man  has  no  abiding  principle  what- 
ever. Fire  is  then  touched  to  the  catafalque,  which 
blazes  up  into  a  mass  of. flame,  and  soon  reduces 
the  whole  to  ashes.  The  assembled  group  dis- 
perses so  soon  as  the  "meritorious  gifts"  are  be- 
stowed upon  the  monks,  a  few  slaves  remaining 
until  the  fire  begins  to  smolder,  and  then  they 
retire,  and  a  few  half-savage  dogs  take  up  the 
watch,  hoping  that  a  bone  or  so  will  be  left  for 
them.  There  is  no  gathering  of  the  ashes  into  an 
urn,  as  among  the  Siamese,  and  a  few  rains  soon 
remove  every  vestige  of  all  the  pomp  and  display. 
These  cremations  cost  anywhere  from  a  few  dol- 
lars to  the  incredible  sum  of  four  hundred  thousand 


158  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

dollars,  as  is  the  case  in  a  royal  cremation.  The 
sand  bar  across  the  river  from  the  south  mission 
compound  in  Lakawn  was  used  as  a  cremation 
ground  by  the  natives  not  in  the  chau  class.  The 
catafalques  were  usually  floated  down  the  stream 
upon  barges.  When  the  catafalque  was  simple,  it 
became  necessary  to  make  a  pyre  of  wood  and  place 
the  catafalque  upon  it.  Usually  the  coffin  was  re- 
moved from  the  catafalque  and  placed  upon  the 
pyre,  when  the  monks  chanted  in  Gregorian  sonor- 
ousness their  prayers,  after  which  a  few  rude  blows 
of  the  ax  caused  the  coffin  to  fall  to  pieces,  expos- 
ing to  view  the  mummied  remains,  over  which  was 
placed  the  catafalque.  Often  the  fire  would  be  ap- 
plied by  the  family.  Each  bearing  a  taper,  they 
marched  around  the  pyre  and  lay  their  tiny  flame 
upon  it.  The  women  often  wailed  at  these  cere- 
monies. 

There  is  a  law  to  protect  the  smoldering  remains, 
and  anyone  touching  the  embers  can  be  heavily 
fined  and  imprisoned.  The  question  arises,  "Why 
should  a  person  care  to  disturb  the  fire?"  the  an- 
swer to  which  becomes  obvious  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  coins  and  jewels  are  often  placed  in  the 
coffin  for  the  spirit's  use;  and,  again,  because  of 
the  length  of  time  such  a  fire  will  smolder  when  a 
little  scattering  would  soon  end  its  life  and  put  a 
stop  to  the  exceedingly  disagreeable  odor  which 
accompanies  even  the  last  dying  ember. 


CHAPTER  XII 

OCCUPATIONS  AND  INDUSTRIES 

THERE  are  no  great  corporations  or  business 
centers  in  the  Laos  country.  Each  community  is  a 
commonwealth  in  itself,  the  inhabitants  raising 
their  own  rice,  fruits,  and  vegetables,  during  the 
rainy  season,  and  during  the  dry  months  weaving 
cloth,  molding  and  baking  pottery  ware,  and 
carrying  on  the  traffic  that  is  done  by  caravans  of 
men.  Each  year  traders  come  down  from  Yunnan 
bringing  silk  and  the  small  wares  of  China  with 
them  on  their  pack  mules,  and  carrying  back  dye- 
woods,  gums,  stick-lac,  gold  dust,  and  copper,  but 
mostly  cotton  compressed  into  small  packs.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  such  a  caravan  composed 
of  some  dozen  or  so  of  men  with  some  sixty  or 
seventy  mules  will  carry  merchandise  amounting  to 
some  fifteen  thousand  dollars  in  value.  The  usual 
routes  are  from  Yunnan  via  Chieng  Tung  or  Chieng 
Rung  and  Chieng  Rai,  either  to  Chieng  Mai  or 
through  Lakawn  to  Utaradit  (Ta  It).  Among 
themselves  the  people  are  what  might  be  termed  a 
race  of  traders,  not  with  a  show  of  bustle  and  enter- 
prise, but  in  a  quiet,  unpretentious  way.  The  people 
manifest  skill  and  fitness  to  a  marvelous  degree  for 
this  petty  trading.  The  districts  rich  in  tea  send 
the  packed  leaves  on  the  shoulders  of  men  to  the 
sugar  plantations,  receiving  for  their  stimulant  a 

159 


l6o  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

sweet  in  return.  Certain  villages  make  better  pot 
tery  ware  than  others  because  of  the  more  excellent 
quality  of  their  clay  so  they  exchange  their  pots 
and  jars  for  cotton  and  tobacco.  One  would 
readily  see  that  this  is  a  very  primitive  mode  of 
trade,  as  little  or  no  money  is  used  as  a  medium  of 
exchange.  Traders  from  Burma  can  be  found  in 
the  large  centers.  They  bring  mostly  cotton  and 
silk  goods,  for  which  there  is  of  late  a  rapidly  in- 
creasing demand.  Chieng  Mai  enjoys  a  most 
prosperous  trade  of  this  kind. 

Silver  and  goldsmiths  have  no  special  season  for 
following  their  craft.  At  any  time  they  will  melt 
down  one's  silver  coins  or  gold  leaf  into  any  form 
wished.  This  is  done  in  somewhat  of  a  primitive 
style.  The  metal  is  beaten  into  the  desired  shape, 
which  we  will  suppose  to  be  a  bowl.  The  bowl  is 
then  filled  with  a  melted  solution  of  beeswax  and 
resin,  which  soon  hardens  within  the  bowl.  The 
smith  then  traces  the  desired  design  upon  the 
smooth  exterior  and  hammers  it  into  shape  with  a 
style  and  chisel,  the  plastic  filling  yielding  to  the 
blow.  The  inside  filling  is  removed  and  the  work 
is  complete.  This  leaves  a  rough  inside  finish,  but 
the  bowl  is  elegant  and  rich  upon  the  exterior. 
The  value  of  the  article  is  determined  by  weighing 
it,  and  adding  a  certain  amount,  often  as  much  as 
fifty  per  cent  for  labor. 

Paper  is  not  an  article  in  great  demand;  for 
banana  leaves  are  cheaper  and  more  handy  for 
tying  up  bundles,  and  formerly  all  writing  was  done 
with  stylus  upon  palm  leaves.  Recently  there  is  a 


OCCUPATIONS   AND   INDUSTRIES  l6l 

growing  demand  for  paper.  This  paper  is  manu- 
factured from  the  pulp  of  a  certain  tree.  There 
are  many  manufactories  scattered  over  the  country, 
if  so  primitive  a  modus  opcrandi  can  be  so  termed. 
The  bark  is  reduced  to  a  pulp  by  beating,  when  it 
is  soaked  in  water  until  it  becomes  a  mushy  con- 
sistency. It  is  then  run  into  molds  of  rectangular 
boxes,  with  bottoms  of  cloth.  It  is  sun-dried  and 
ready  for  use.  The  texture  is  coarse,  but  the  color 
is  a  good  white.  The  paper  is  tough  and  is  ap- 
plicable to  a  variety  of  uses,  one  of  the  most  pleas- 
ing being  a  foundation  for  the  rich  and  beautiful 
embroidery  work  of  the  princesses. 

A  large  quantity  of  lacquer  ware  is  made  of  all 
grades,  from  a  rough  finish  in  poor  colors  to  a 
highly-polished  surface  in  perfect  shades  of  gold, 
red,  and  black.  The  usual  articles  made  are 
betel  boxes,  from  a  shoulder-bag  size  to  those 
a  foot  in  diameter;  bowls  for  household  use, 
and  cups,  without  handles,  which,  when  inverted, 
fit  over  the  mouths  of  nam  tons — clay  water 
coolers. 

The  foundation  for  this  lacquer  work  is  a  bamboo 
wicker,  but  one  would  never  guess  it  when  looking 
upon  the  exquisitely  polished  surface  wrought  in 
delicate  and  dainty  designs  of  perfect  hues.  The 
gold  color  is  obtained  by  adding  powdered  tumeric 
and  gamboge  to  the  melted  shell-lac,  and  the  beau- 
tiful red  color  by  substituting  annotto  for  the 
tumeric  and  dragon's  blood  for  the  gamboge. 
These  goods  are  only  made  in  sufficient  quantities 
to  supply  the  local  demand.  One  oftentimes  finds 
ii 


l62  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

work  finished  in  shades  of  orange,  garnet,  and  liver 
that  are  not  pleasing  to  the  eye.  These  shades  are 
caused  by  the  stick-lac  being  imperfectly  freed  from 
impurities.  The  process  is  simple,  but  requires 
care.  The  broken  twigs,  covered  with  the  resinous 
exudation  of  the  lac  insect,  are  submerged  in  hot 
water.  This  melts  the  resinous  matter,  which  sinks 
in  a  pliable  mass  to  the  bottom,  frees  the  bits  of 
wood  and  the  remains  of  dead  insects  which  come 
to  the  surface,  and  also  dissolves  the  beautiful 
purple  coloring  matter  which  the  insect  secreted 
during  its  lifetime.  The  resin  should  be  well 
kneaded  while  in  this  state,  and  if  not,  the  poor 
shades  referred  to  above  are  the  result.  The  resin 
is  then  removed  from  the  water  and  dried.  It  is 
then  broken  into  bits  and  placed  in  a  coarse  cloth 
bag,  held  beside  a  charcoal  fire  and  again  melted, 
and  squeezed  out  through  the  meshes  of  the  cloth. 
It  falls  in  sheets  upon  planks  placed  to  catch  it. 
It  quickly  hardens  and  in  that  state  is  known  as 
the  shell-lac  of  commerce.  It  is  estimated  that  from 
the  Indo-Chinese  peninsula  and  the  eastern  sweep 
of  India  there  are  yearly  exported  to  Great  Britain 
alone  no  less  than  one  thousand  two  hundred  tons 
of  lac  products.  The  Laos  country  has  unlimited 
resources  along  this  line,  and  should  join  in  the 
prosperity  of  her  surrounding  sister  countries.  In 
India  the  purple  coloring  matter  liberated  when 
the  stick-lac  is  dissolved  in  water  is  made  into  a 
commercial  form  by  straining  the  water  and 
evaporating.  The  sediment  formed  is  cut  into 
squares  and  shipped  under  the  name  of  lac  dye. 


OCCUPATIONS    AND    INDUSTRIES  163 

It  is  a  highly-valued  dye,  and  is  used  to  color  the 
scarlet  cloth  of  the  British  soldiery. 

The  native  chaus  use  shell-lac  for  sealing  wax.  In- 
deed, I  have  often  used  for  sealing  letters  the  stick- 
lac  in  its  virgin  state,  and  it  is  entirely  satisfactory, 
excepting  in  color,  which  is  of  an  ugly  yellow 
shade. 

The  method  of  weaving  has  been  described  in  a 
preceding  cheater.  In  the  large  cities  the  homes 
are  giving  up  their  looms  and  spinning  wheels,  as 
the  Burmese  market  stall  is  always  near  at  hand. 
But  in  the  towns  and  villages  they  are  as  much 
used  as  in  former  ages.  Certain  districts  work 
iron  up  into  knives  and  swords  and  sabers;  men, 
here  and  there,  spend  the  sunset  of  life  tying  long 
grass  into  thatch;  and  at  bends  in  the  roads,  one 
often  runs  upon  a  group  of  men  sawing  timber, 
after  the  Chinese  method,  from  side  to  side.  But 
as  we  said  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  there 
are  no  great  industries  carried  on  by  companies 
and  corporations,  with  capital  and  labor  problems. 
There  are  no  large  buildings  given  over  to  the  in- 
dustries. Instead  every  man  works  beneath  his 
own  house  or  in  a  shed  in  the  yard.  When  he 
feels  disposed,  he  turns  his  hand  to  his  work;  when 
he  does  not,  he  lies  in  the  house  or  carries  the 
baby  out  for  a  stroll  or  bathes  in  the  river,  always 
knowing  that  Mother  Nature  will  see  that  he  has 
enough  to  eat — and  it  takes  but  little  for  clothing. 
Life  is  lived  from  day  to  day  and  from  year  to  year 
without  looking  into  the  future,  and  striving  to  build 
a  name  or  business  to  leave  behind  when  dead. 


164  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

The  Laos  are  most  emphatically  a  pastoral  peo- 
ple. It  is  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  the  sowing  and 
the  reaping  that  they  find  their  chief  delight.  As 
rice  is  the  chief  article  of  food,  great  quantities 
of  it  must  be  raised,  and  about  its  cultivation  would 
naturally  center  much  of  the  life  of  the  land.  As 
Americans,  we  often  remark  that  bread  is  the  staff 
of  life.  But  we  very  much  resent  a  bread  diet.  In 
an  equally  accurate  sense  can  the  Laos  say  that 
rice  is  their  staff  of  life,  for  it  forms  the  bulk  of 
every  meal ;  so  much  so  that  a  meal  is  referred  to 
as  "eat  rice."  Breakfast  is  "eat  rice  morning"; 
dinner,  "eat  rice  noon,"  and  supper,  "eat  rice  even- 
ing." If  a  person  is  asked,  "Are  you  well?"  he 
will  reply,  "Yes,  I  ate  my  rice  heartily,"  or  if  the 
reverse  is  true,  "No,  my  rice  does  not  taste  well." 
The  chau  in  his  palace  and  the  peasant  in  his 
modest  home  both  depend  upon  the  same  staff  of 
life.  In  the  early  morn,  from  all  directions  comes 
the  sound  of  stone  pestles  as  they  are  thrust  down 
into  stone  mortars  by  housewives  pounding  the 
ingredients  of  curry  to  be  eaten  with  the  morning 
rice.  At  the  evening  hour,  the  soft  air  is  musical 
with  the  clickety-click-tum  of  rice  pounders.  Every 
home  has  its  rice  bin,  where  is  stored  the  yearly 
supply  of  grain. 

Rice  is  capable  of  many  varieties,  and  students 
tell  us  that  there>  are  one  hundred  and  twenty  kinds 
in  India  and  Ceylon  alone.  The  soil  and  climate 
of  Laos-land  are  adaptable  to  many  of  these 
species,  but  there  is  one  special  kind  which  has 
won  general  favor,  and  is  usually  cultivated  for  the 


OCCUPATIONS   AND    INDUSTRIES  165 

daily  consumption.  It  is  the  glutinous  rice  previ- 
ously referred  to,  and  which  is  so  nutritious  that  a 
man  can  do  hard  manual  labor  and  eat  but  little 
else. 

At  the  close  of  the  dry  season  the  rice  plains 
lie  baked  hard  and  dry,  with  cracks  and  fissures 
running  across  them.  Nothing  could  look  more 
uninviting  to  vegetable  life.  But  the  rains  com- 
mence and  the  fields  drink  in  the  daily  downpour 
until  the  streams  rise  sufficiently  to  help  flood 
them,  covering  them  with  a  coating  of  rich  silt. 

The  people  are  happy  now.  They  flock  to  the 
plains  and  breathe  the  odor  which  is  to  them  so  de- 
lightful— fresh  upturned  mud.  The  slow  plodding 
buffalo  is  ankle-deep  in  water  as  he  draws  the  rude 
plow  along.  A  sprouting  bed  is  first  prepared  by 
sowing  thickly  the  desired  number  of  bushels  of 
grain.  When  this  is  about  a  foot  high  it  is  care- 
fully pulled  from  the  bed,  the  top  cut  off  a  few 
inches,  tied  into  bundles,  and  is  then  carried  in 
baskets  to  the  waiting  field.  Here  women  and 
men  transplant  it  by  quickly  thrusting  the  roots 
downward  into  the  soft  mud.  This  process  of 
transplanting  requires  more  labor  than  our  Caro- 
lina method,  but  with  these  people  time  is  not 
money,  and  by  this  means  not  a  grain  is  lost. 

The  water  is  never  taken  from  the  fields,  and 
the  rice  is  worked  by  pulling  up  with  the  hands 
what  grass  appears.  If  the  rains  are  unsteady,  and 
streams  do  not  rise  sufficiently  to  flood  the  plains, 
a  curious  kind  of  water  wheel  is  used.  It  is  made 
of  bamboo  and  about  the  circumference  runs  a  row 


l66  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

of  bamboo  joints.  These  as  they  go  down  into 
the  water  are  filled,  and  as  they  come  up  empty 
their  contents  into  a  trough,  which  runs  to  the 
field  adjacent. 

If  the  season  is  good  the  yield  of  rice  will  be 
from  thirty  to  three  hundred  fold,  according  to 
the  soil.  When  the  rains  cease,  the  reapers,  men, 
women,  and  youths,  enter  the  fields,  armed  with 
hook-bladed  knives,  and  with  the  sun  begin  their 
pleasant  task.  The  immense  plain  waves  and 
swells  in  the  sunlight  like  a  golden  sea.  A  hand- 
ful of  the  grain  is  caught  in  the  left  hand  and  the 
knife  in  the  right  severs  it  from  the  stalk.  It  is 
then  laid  upon  the  stubble,  and  very  gently,  too, 
for  the  grain  is  exceedingly  deciduous  and  one 
rude  touch  would  shatter  it  upon  the  ground. 
Alas,  if  a  late  straggling  shower  should  come 
now !  After  the  grain  has  dried  for  a  few  days  in 
the  sun  it  is  carefully  gathered  into  stacks  and 
there  shaken  and  beaten  off,  sometimes  into  large 
baskets,  sometimes  simply  piled  upon  the  ground. 
Busy  hands  then  heap  the  golden  grain  into  small 
baskets,  while  others  pour  it  out  upon  a  large  bam- 
boo mat.  As  it  falls,  it  is  winnowed  by  two  men, 
who  wield  their  fans  with  strength  and  skill. 

From  the  time  the  new  rice  is  put  into  the 
sprouting  beds  until  it  is  stored  away  into  the  bins, 
it  has  to  be  watched  night  and  day  to  keep  ele- 
phants and  cattle  off  the  fields  and  also  to  see  that 
some  rogue  of  a  thief  does  not  steal  it.  An  ele- 
vated shed,  a  few  feet  square,  serves  as  watch- 
man's tup  until  the  harvest  season,  when  the  watch- 


OCCUPATIONS   AND    INDUSTRIES  167 

man  makes  a  cosy  place  amid  the  sheaves  to  keep 
off  the  heavy  dew,  and  here  the  children  love  to 
come  and  play  in  the  daytime.  Their  games  are 
"bear,"  "tiger,"  and  "hide-and-seek,"  just  as  chil- 
dren play  the  world  around.  The  straw  is  care- 
fully thrown  into  stacks  and  carried  by  children  to 
the  homestead,  where  it  is  stored  away  for  the 
buffaloes. 

The  chaus  have  their  grain  brought  in  from  the 
fields  on  the  backs  of  elephants  and  stored  in  im- 
mense bins.  The  peasants  either  carry  theirs  in 
on  their  shoulders  or  by  cattle  trains.  These  cat- 
tle trains  form  one  of  the  most  picturesque  phases 
of  the  life  of  this  people.  The  fawn-colored  crea- 
tures have  suspended  from  their  necks  bells  of  all 
sorts  and  sizes.  Upon  their  backs  rest  saddles, 
from  which  baskets  are  suspended  on  both  sides. 
These  are  filled  with  rice,  and  covers  are  tightly 
tied  over  their  mouths.  The  leader  of  a  cattle 
train  often  wears  a  mask  upon  his  face,  which  is 
gayly  decorated  with  bright  cloth  and  paper,  and 
from  the  arch  of  the  saddle  sometimes  rises  high 
in  the  air  an  immense  bunch  of  peacock  feathers. 
This  is  done  as  an  offering  to  the  spirits  who  have 
sent  blessings  and  a  harvest  the  past  year.  Pleased 
by  the  gratitude  of  the  man  it  is  thought  that  they 
will  in  turn  send  a  like  blessing  the  following  year. 

During  the  morning  hours  of  the  harvest  season 
the  whole  of  the  Laos  country  is  throbbing  with 
the  tinkling  of  cattle  bells.  It  is  the  sweetest  of 
all  sounds  to  this  people,  for  it  assures  them  food 
for  the  coming  year.  At  times,  the  rains  are  scarce 


l68  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

and  unsteady,  and  the  rice  crop  is  a  failure.  Sev- 
eral such  seasons  in  succession  .will  bring  that 
scourge  of  the  East — famine. 

New  rice  is  sweeter  and  more  savory  than  is  old 
rice,  and  any  child  can  tell  you  that,  and  so  in  the 
harvest  season  one  can  see  women  with  their  port- 
able restaurants,  hung  from  their  shoulders,  going 
from  house  to  house,  peddling  their  ware,  and 
waiting  patiently  while  the  purchaser  slowly  eats 
his  rice,  first  dipping  it  into  the  curry  bowl.  When 
he  has  eaten,  a  drink  can  be  had  from  the  water  jar 
gratis,  and  then  the  coins -are  handed  over. 

There  are  no  students  of  science  in  the  land,  and 
few  students  of  literature.  The  study  of  letters  is 
mostly  confined  to  the  sacred  writings  in  the 
monasteries.  This  is  a  great  pity ;  for  the  Laos 
have  many  ancient  works  of  poetry,  of  mythology, 
of  folk-lore,  of  law  and  custom,  and  of  reliable  and 
authentic  history.  There  are  no  students  of  art, 
though  many  men  have  a  gift  for  expressing  by 
a  few  bold  lines  the  essential  characteristics  of  the 
person  or  object  portrayed.  Each  village  has  one 
or  more  doctors,  but  the  profession  is  so  closely 
allied  with  spirit-worship  and  witchcraft  that  it  will 
be  dealt  with  under  that  head. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  chapter  that  even  among 
the  Laos  there  is  a  choice  as  to  occupation,  and 
the  wisdom  of  workmen,  trained  and  skilled,  is 
acknowledged. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CHILD   LIFE 

THE  Laos  country  is  even  more  truly  a  land  of 
children  than  is  Japan,  and  in  no  country  of  the 
East  can  prettier,  brighter  faces  be  found  and  more 
winsome  manners,  than  among  the  children  of  this 
land. 

When  a  child  is  born  it  is  carried  tenderly  by 
a  loving  grandmother  to  the  end  of  the  veranda 
and  there  cold  water  from  the  jar  is  poured  over 
and  over  the  bit  of  warm  humanity  while  it 
screams  and  kicks  vigorously.  When  the  bath  is 
complete  it  is  carried  back  into  the  room  and 
wrapped  in  swaddling  cloths — anything  at  hand, 
for  it  is  very  bad  luck  to  prepare  clothing  for  the 
expected  child.  It  is  then  laid  upon  a  small  cot- 
ton pad,  which  is  surrounded  by  roll  upon  roll  of 
cloth  until  the  babe  is  all  but  hidden  within  the 
soft  wall.  If  it  continues  to  cry,  a  little  rice  is 
stuffed  into  the  mouth,  and  the  child  falls  asleep 
sucking  it.  Even  in  the  cool  season  a  child 
is  given  this  cold  water  bath  in  the  open  air. 
But  it  is  not  disturbed  by  much  bathing  after- 
wards. 

Sometimes  a  box  containing  dirt  and  a  fire  upon 
it  is  then  drawn  up  to  the  mother,  and  for  several 
days  she  has  to  lie  beside  this  roasting  fire.  The 
term  roasting  is  entirely  correct,  for  the  flesh  is 

169 


I7O  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

actually  cooked  upon  the  abdomen  and  back,  if 
the  recovery  be  slow,  or  complications  set  in.  Often 
a  woman  dies  "before  the  fire." 

At  such  a  time  there  are  strings  which  have  been 
blessed  by  spirit-doctors  strung  around  the  house 
to  ward  off  evil  spirits.  Blooms  of  certain  per- 
fectly innocuous  flowers  are  not  allowed  in  the 
house,  as  sure  death  would  result  from  inhalation. 
There  are  a  score  or  more  of  such  superstitious 
beliefs  connected  with  the  advent  of  the  little  one, 
the  majority  of  them  working  discomfort  to  the 
mother.  The  Laos  have  a  share  in  the  general 
sorrow  and  suffering  that  crowns  motherhood  in 
the  heathen  world.  If  a  woman  has  a  natural  de- 
livery, this  is  minimized,  but  if,  as  is  so  often  the 
case,  there  are  complications,  she  is  often  left  alone 
in  her  agony  to  die  a  torturous  death,  for  "the  evil 
spirit's  hand  is  upon  her,"  and  no  one,  not  even 
those  of  her  own  family,  will  remain,  for  "the  evil 
spirit  would  stick  to  thern,  too."  I  could  tell  of 
treatment  at  such  times  that  would  make  the  blood 
run  cold  within  one,  but  this  hint  at  the  awful 
truth  is  probably  sufficient  to  show  that  the  Laos 
are  woefully  in  need  of  ambassadors  of  the  Great 
Physician. 

When  a  child  is  from  one  to  two  months  old,  it 
is  promoted  from  the  cotton  pad  to  a  swinging 
basket.  It  is  then  petted  and  loved  and  fondled 
and  showed  off  to  visiting  friends,  and  spoiled  very 
much  as  children  are  the  world  over.  It  is  stuffed 
with  rice  and  scraped  banana — though  the  mother 
nourishes  it  with  the  breast  for  two  or  three  years 


CHILD    LIFE  I/I 

— and  is  allowed  to  smoke  and  chew  betel  at  about 
the  age  of  three  years.  As  one  might  readily  sup- 
pose the  mortality  among  young  children  is  alarm- 
ingly great. 

A  babe  is  always  laid  upon  its  back  so  as  to  flat- 
ten its  head.  According  to  the  popular  idea,  the 
flatter  the  head  in  the  back  the  better.  So  moth- 
ers may  be  seen  rubbing  their  infants'  heads  by 
the  hour.  In  admiring  a  heathen  baby,  one  should 
never  say,  "How  pretty!"  for  the  evil  spirits  will 
become  envious  and  kill  the  child.  But  it  is  safe 
to  say,  "The  child  has  a  good  eye,"  or,  "His  eye  is 
black,"  which  covers  the  ground  as  completely  as 
though  all  known  adjectives  had  been  applied. 
The  most  complimentary  thing  to  be  said  of  an 
infant,  is  Luang  te,  or  "Large,  truly." 

A  child  is  not  burdened  with  clothes  until 
some  seven  or  eight  years  old,  but  it  may  be 
adorned  with  anklets  or  bracelets  or  a  fancy  cap, 
and,  indeed,  I  have  seen  an  especially  beloved  child 
with  a  bit  of  a  fancy  Eton  jacket,  which  gives  him 
a  most  comical  look. 

These  little  folk  are  seldom  taught  self-govern- 
ment. They  are  allowed  their  own  sweet  way  until 
they  get  bad  beyond  endurance.  Then  a  mother, 
becoming  angry,  will  pick  up  a  stick  and  beat  with 
heavy  blows,  accompanied  by  ugly  threats,  not 
the  child,  but  the  floor  beside  him.  The  child 
screams  and  jumps  and  runs  about  the  veranda  in 
an  alarming  manner,  as  though  he  was  expecting 
each  successive  blow  to  fall  upon  him.  After  this 
vigorous  punishment,  quiet  and  order  is  sometimes 


172  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

restored  for  a  time,  and  the  offender  is  docile  and 
duly  humbled. 

Another  method  of  managing  unruly  children  is 
equally  amusing.  The  culprit  is  tied  with  a  stout 
rope  by  one  ankle  to  the  middle  post  of  the  ver- 
anda. The  mother  goes  about  her  work  or  recre- 
ation, and  leaves  the  child  to  scream  and  jump  and 
pull  until  he  wears  himself  out  and  lies  down  to 
sleep.  When  he  awakes,  he  is  in  a  good  frame  of 
mind. 

Parents  consider  it  the  height  of  cruelty  to 
"spank"  a  child,  and  punishment  such  as  has  been 
described  is  never  inflicted  as  a  result  of  misde- 
meanor, but  as  an  evidence  of  anger  on  the  parent's 
part.  The  reason  that  children  so  managed  de- 
velop into  the  sturdy  men  and  women  that  they 
do  is  found  in  the  family  life  of  the  people.  The 
children  are  kept  with  the  parents,  helping  with 
whatever  they  are  engaged  in.  Beside  the  moth- 
er's bamboo  strip  and  water  buckets,  is  to  be  seen 
one  or  more  small  ones,  and  when  she  goes  for 
water  there  is  a  patter  of  little  feet  that  brings  up 
the  rear,  and  tiny  buckets  are  emptied  into  the 
large  jar. 

"Little  fagots  help  to  fill  the  basket,  too." 

While  the  mother  weaves,  the  children  care  for 
the  baby,  either  swinging  it  in  the  basket  or  carry- 
ing it  in  the  approved  style  astride  the  hip.  This 
is  said  to  be  comfortable  for  the  baby,  but  it  gives 
the  nurse  a  very  oblique  look.  When  the  father 
goes  to  the  rice  field,  the  little  girls  and  boys  fol- 


'WHEN  THE  FATHER  GOES  TO  THE  RICE  FIELDS."— A  Christian  family. 


CHILD    LIFE  173 

low  and  mind  the  buffaloes,  keeping  them  grazing 
in  certain  places  given  over  to  them,  or  confining 
them  to  the  dividing  ridges  when  the  grain  hangs 
upon  the  stalk. 

In  the  evening,  the  children  are  all  gathered 
beneath  the  paternal  roof.  They  listen  deferen- 
tially to  their  parents'  conversation,  respect  for 
elders  being  an  inherent  trait  of  the  people.  Usually 
the  houses  are  poorly  lighted,  a  smoky  torch  or 
greasy  lamp,  without  a  chimney,  being,  until  re- 
cently, the  only  means  of  illumination.  So  there 
are  no  evening  games,  and  early  the  children  go 
to  bed,  one  by  one,  as  they  may  become  sleepy. 

In  the  morning  they  wash  their  mouths,  and  if 
the  season  be  cool  they  sometimes  plunge  into  the 
river  to  "warm"  themselves.  The  little  girls  comb 
their  hair  and  coil  it  into  a  knot  at  the  back  of  the 
head,  exactly  as  their  mothers  do,  and  their  skirts 
differ  only  in  size.  Boys  adjust  their  pa  tois  as  do 
their  fathers:  and  altogether  children  look  like  lit- 
tle men  and  women.  In  running,  girls  always  re- 
move the  rings  from  their  ears,  as  the  lobes  might 
be  torn  by  the  heavy  coil. 

And  they  have  their  fun,  too.  "Tag,"  "base," 
"hide-and-seek,"  and  "crack-the-whip,"  are  great 
favorites.  In  March  the  air  above  is  studded  with 
kites,  tailless  kites  that  would  shame  an  American 
kite  to  an  open  blush.  Seldom  does  a  boy  have  to 
run  to  mount  his  kite  in  the  air.  He  gets  it  up  by 
means  of  little  jerks  upon  the  string.  Kite  fights 
in  midair  are  enjoyed  by  old  as  well  as  young. 

Probably  the  favorite  game  of  Laos  childhood, 


174  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

one  that  might  be  termed  the  national  game,  is 
played  by  tossing  coins.  Several  holes  are  dug  in 
the  ground  and  around  them  a  circle  is  drawn,  and 
the  contestants  stand  off  some  eight  or  ten  feet  and 
toss  the  coin.  The  game  is  full  of  interest  and  ex- 
citement to  the  players,  the  coins  often,  though  not 
always,  going  to  the  winner.  About  the  only 
quarrels  I  have  ever  seen  among  the  children  have 
been  over  this  game. 

There  are  many  rhymes  and  childhood  jingles 
in  the  language,  and  young  and  old  like  to  try  to 
repeat  rapidly  difficult  sentences,  such  as  our 
familiar  one,  which  begins  "Peter  Piper  picked  a 
peck  of  purple  podded  peppers."  Many  of  their 
jingles  are  like  unto  those  of  "Mother  Goose,"  and 
some  have  a  deep  meaning  and  helpful  tone.  One 
popular  rhyme  runs  as  follows: — 

"Chang  tua  noi, 
Kin  nam,  oi 
Chep,  lu  tawng." 

This  they  cry  out  to  young  elephants  as  they  pass, 
a  rough  translation  being,  "Little  elephant,  if  you 
eat  sugar-cane  syrup  you  will  have  stomach  ache." 
There  are  many  beautiful  folk-lore  stories,  which 
parents  repeat  to  their  children,  and  wonderful  tales 
are  told  them,  more  marvelous  than  the  adventures 
of  Jack  the  Giant  Killer.  One  or  two  of  the  folk- 
lore stories  will  be  of  interest  here.  We  will 
quote  from  Miss  Fleeson's  charming  collection.* 


*  Laos  Folk-Lore,  by  Katherine  M.  Fleeson. 


CHILD    LIFE  175 

THE   MAN   IN   THE  MOON 

"There  was  a  blacksmith  once,  who  complained:  'I  am 
not  well,  and  my  work  is  too  warm.  I  want  to  be  a  stone 
on  the  mountain.  There  it  must  be  cool,  for  the  wind 
blows  and  the  trees  give  a  shade.' 

"A  wise  man,  who  had  power  over  all  things,  replied: 
'Go  thou,  be  a  stone.'  And  he  was  a  stone  high  up  on 
the  mountain  side. 

"It  happened  a  stonecutter  came  that  way  for  stone,  and, 
when  he  saw  the  one  that  had  been  the  blacksmith,  he 
knew  it  was  what  he  sought,  and  he  began  to  cut  it. 

"The  stone  cried  out:  'This  hurts.  I  no  longer  want  to 
be  a  stone,  a  stonecutter  I  want  to  be.  That  would  be 
pleasant.' 

"The  wise  man,  humoring  him,  said:  'Be  a  cutter.' 
Thus  he  became  a  stonecutter,  and,  as  he  went  seeking 
suitable  stones  he  grew  tired,  and  his  feet  were  sore.  He 
whimpered:  'I  no  longer  want  to  cut  stone.  I  would  be 
the  sun;  that  would  be  pleasant.' 

"The  wise  man  commanded:  'Be  the  sun.'  And  he  was 
the  sun. 

"But  the  sun  was  warmer  than  the  blacksmith,  than  a 
stone,  than  a  stonecutter,  and  he  complained:  'I  do  not 
like  this.  I  would  be  the  moon.  It  looks  cool.' 

"The  wise  man  spake  yet  again:  'Be  the  moon.'  And 
he  was  the  moon. 

"  This  is  warmer  than  being  the  sun,'  murmured  he. 
'For  the  light  from  the  sun  shines  on  me  ever.  I  do  not 
want  to  be  the  moon.  I  would  be  a  smith  again.  That, 
verily,  is  the  best  life.' 

"But  the  wise  man  replied:  'I  am  weary  of  your  chang- 
ing. You  wanted  to  be  the  moon ;  the  moon  you  are, 
and  it  you  will  remain.' 

"And  in  yon  high  heaven  lives  he  to  this  day." 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  RICE 

"In  the  days  when  the  earth  was  young  and  all  things 
were  better  than  they  now  are,  when  men  and  women 


176  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

were  stronger  and  of  greater  beauty,  and  the  fruit  of  the 
trees  was  larger  and  sweeter  than  that  which  we  now  eat, 
rice,  the  food  of  the  people,  was  of  larger  grain.  One 
grain  was  all  a  man  could  eat,  and  in  those  early  days, 
such,  too,  was  the  merit  of  the  people,  they  never  had  to 
toil  gathering  the  rice,  for,  when  ripe,  it  fell  from  the 
stalks  and  rolled  into  the  villages,  even  into  the  granaries. 

"And  upon  a  year,  when  the  rice  was  larger  and  more 
plentiful  than  ever  before,  a  widow  said  to  her  daughter: 
'Our  granaries  are  too  small.  We  will  pull  them  down 
and  build  larger.' 

"When  the  old  granaries  were  pulled  down  and  the  new 
one  not  yet  ready  for  use,  the  rice  was  ripe  in  the  fields. 
Great  haste  was  made,  but  the  rice  came  rolling  in  where 
the  work  was  going  on,  and  the  widow,  angered,  struck 
a  grain  and  cried:  'Could  you  not  wait  in  the  fields  until 
we  were  ready?  You  should  not  bother  us  now  when  you 
are  not  wanted/ 

"The  rice  broke  into  thousands  of  pieces  and  said: 
'From  this  time  forth,  we  will  wait  in  the  fields  until  we 
are  wanted,'  and,  from  that  time  the  rice  has  been  of  small 
grain,  and  the  people  of  the  earth  must  gather  it  into  the 
granary  from  the  fields." 

Children  spend  much  time  gathering  flowers  and 
stringing  the  blossoms  to  coil  around  their  hair. 
They  are  very  clever  in  weaving  flowers  into  curi- 
ous designs  to  be  sent  as  offerings  to  the  temple. 
The  leaves  are  always  carefully  plucked  off  in  ar- 
ranging them,  leaving  only  a  mass  of  blooms,  this 
because  of  their  taste  in  the  matter.  When  I  was 
new  to  the  country  I  sent  a  young  girl  down  into 
the  garden  with  scissors  and  tray  to  cut  roses  to 
carry  up  to  the  chapel  for  the  morning  service. 
I  cautioned  her  to  cut  the  stems  long.  To  my 
utter  astonishment  she  appeared  with  the  tray 


CHILD   LIFE  177 

piled  up  high  with  roses  upon  long,  leafless  stems. 
She  had  carefully  clipped  off  every  leaf. 

When  mothers  go  to  the  temple  they  carry  their 
children  with  them,  and  teach  them  to  fold  their 
hands,  bow  their  heads,  and  place  a  flower  at  the 
foot  of  the  idol.  They  also  train  the  little  girls  to 
sit  correctly,  with  both  feet  on  the  same  side,  and 
all  their  children  are  early  taught  to  bow  the  head 
in  walking  past  an  elder  or  superior. 

Many  of  the  boys  enter  the  temple  for  a  period 
of  several  years  at  least,  until  the  prefix  Ai  can  be 
dropped  from  their  names,  and  they  be  free  from 
the  term  of  reproach  "green/5  which  is  given  every 
man  until  he  has  won  his  title  Noi  or  Nan,  by  tak- 
ing partial  or  full  monastic  orders  respectively. 
Memorizing  constitutes  the  sum  and  substance  of 
native  education.  It  is  just  here  that  mission 
schools  find  their  greatest  difficulty  in  teaching. 
The  pupils  can  readily  memorize  page  after  page 
of  their  lessons,  but  if  asked  to  tell  in  their  own 
words  what  they  are  repeating,  they  are  floored  at 
once.  Thus  one  can  see  how  this  system  of  memo- 
rizing, though  admittedly  good  for  mind  discipline 
to  a  certain  degree,  can  be  pushed  until  all  other 
mental  activities  are  benumbed. 

Would  that  this  were  the  only  side  of  child  life 
in  Laos!  But  there  is  another,  a  dark  side  that 
sends  a  chill  and  a  shudder  from  bound  to  bound 
of  the  entire  land.  It  is  caused  by  the  scourge  of 
spirit-worship,  the  pricks  of  ignorance,  the  bondage 
of  fear.  The  subject  is  an  endless  one,  but  we  will 
touch  upon  it  in  a  chapter  that  is  to  follow. 

12 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A  LOOK  AT  BUDDHISM 

SIAM  is  known  to  be  a  Buddhist  nation.  In  the 
classification  of  the  world's  religions  one  hundred 
million  souls  are  put  down  as  Buddhist,  and  of  this 
number  ten  million  come  from  Siam;  this  before 
the  recent  loss  of  territory  to  France,  which,  of 
course  diminished  the  number  of  Buddhists  in 
Siam,  but  not  in  Indo-China.  In  Siam,  as  a  whole, 
there  are  known  to  be  more  than  a  hundred  thou- 
sand monks  who  wear  the  yellow  robe  of  the  Sacred 
Order,  and  who  are  teachers  of  this  faith.  In 
every  village  of  the  land  there  are  monasteries 
called  wats,  which  are  abiding  evidences  of  the 
religion.  From  the  most  northern  province  to  the 
most  southern  bounds  the  soft  air  of  the  evening 
hour  is  made  mellow  with  the  tuneful  notes  of  wat 
bells  and  drums,  the  echoes  floating  down  across 
the  rice  plains  and  up  the  valleys  to  the  highest 
mountain  top.  His  majesty  the  king,  in  his  coro- 
nation, has  to  take  upon  himself  the  most  solemn 
vows  to  support  the  religion  of  Lord  Buddha,  and 
church  and  state  are  one.  Siam  is  worthy  of  the 
title  of  being  a  Buddhist  nation! 

In  this  day  of  the  study  of  comparative  religion 
Buddhism  is  a  well-known  religion  to  Americans. 
But  to  point  our  story  the  more  clearly  it  will  not 
be  amiss  to  touch  upon  the  fundamental  principles 


A   LOOK  AT   BUDDHISM  179 

of  the  belief.  In  the  fifth  chapter  of  Rhys  Davids' 
Buddhism  we  find  the  moral  precepts  of  the  faith 
as  they  are  held  in  India  and  Siam.  Leaving  the 
more  metaphysical  ones,  we  will  quote  a  few  of 
those  of  a  more  practical  nature.  From  the  well- 
known 

BUDDHIST  BEATITUDES 
A  deva  speaks: — 

1.  Many  angels  and  men 

Have  held  various  things  blessings, 
When  they  were  yearning  for  happiness. 
Do  thou  declare  to  us  the  chief  good. 

Gotama  answers : — 

2.  Not  to  serve  the  foolish, 
But  to  serve  the  wise  ; 

To  honor  those  worthy  of  honor: 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

3.  To  dwell  in  a  pleasant  land, 

Good  works  done  in  a  former  birth, 
Right  desires  in  the  heart : 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

4.  Much  insight  and  education, 
Self-control  and  pleasant  speech, 
And  whatever  word  be  well-spoken: 

This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

5.  To  support  father  and  mother, 
To  cherish  wife  and  child, 

To  follow  a  peaceful  calling; 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

6.  To  bestow  alms  and  live  righteously, 
To  give  help  to  kindred, 

Deeds  which  cannot  be  blamed; 
These  are  the  greatest  blessings. 


ISO  THE   LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

7.  To  abhor,  and  cease  from  sin, 
Abstinence  from  strong  drink, 
Not  to  be  weary  in  welldoing; 

These  are  the  greatest  blessings. 

8.  Reverence  and  lowliness, 
Contentment  and  gratitude, 

The  hearing  of  the  Law  at  due  seasons : 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

9.  To  be  long-suffering  and  meek, 

To  associate  with  the  tranquil  (*.  e.,  Buddhist  monks), 
Religious  talk  at  due  seasons : 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

10.  Self-restraint  and  purity, 

The  knowledge  of  the  Noble  Truths, 
The  realization  of  Nirvana: 
This  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

11.  Beneath  the  stroke  of  life's  changes, 
The  mind  that  shaketh  not, 

Without  grief  or  passion,  and  secure; 
Theirs  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

12.  On  every  side  are  invincible 
They  who  do  acts  like  these, 

On  every  side  they  walk  in  safety, 
And  theirs  is  the  greatest  blessing. 

Again,  the  Nidhikanda  Sutta  (Treasure  Chap- 
ter), after  saying  that  what  men  call  treasure  when 
laid  up  in  a  deep  pit,  profits  nothing,  and  may 
easily  be  lost,  goes  on: — 

The  (real)  treasure  is  that  laid  up  by  man  or  woman 
Through  charity  and  piety,  temperance  and  self-control, 
In  the  sacred  shrine,  or  the  Buddhist  church, 
In  the  individual  man,  in  the  stranger  and  sojourner, 


A   LOOK   AT   BUDDHISM  l8l 

In  his  father  and  mother,  and  elder  brother. 

The  treasure  thus  hid  is  secure,  and  passes  not  away: 

Though  he  leave  the  fleeting  riches  of  this  world,  this  a 

man  takes  with  him — 

A  treasure  that  no  wrong  of  others  and  no  thief  can  steal 
Let  the  wise  man  do  good  deeds— the  treasure  that  follows 

of  itself. 

The  last  quotation  might  be  misleading  to  an 
American  mind,  so  I  quote  Mr.  Davids'  explana- 
tion:— 

"...  The  idea  is  simply  that  good  deeds — and 
bad  ones,  too — done  in  one  birth  will  be  the  very 
thing  that  will  determine  the  material  and  spiritual 
lot  of  the  individual  in  the  next  birth — of  another 
individual,  from  our  point  of  view;  of  the  same,  ac- 
cording to  the  Buddhist  theory.  Passages  like 
these  have  naturally  been  understood  by  Europeans 
to  refer  to  a  soul  passing  from  a  temporary  state 
to  an  eternal  one;  but  such  an  idea  was  never  pres- 
ent to  the  mind  of  a  Buddhist  reading  them." 

Let  us  quote  further  from  this  chapter  of  Mr. 
Davids'  his  translation  of  extracts  from  the 
Dhamma-pada,  or  Scripture,  verses: — 

5.  For  never  in  this  world  does  hatred  cease  by  hatred; 
Hatred  ceases  by  love;  this  is  always  its  nature. 

6l.  As  long  as  the  sin  bears  no  fruit, 
The  fool,  he  thinks  it  honey; 
But  when  the  sin  ripens, 
Then,  indeed,  he  goes  down  into  sorrow. 

103.  One  may  conquer  a  thousand  thousand  men  in  battle, 
But  he  who  conquers  himself  alone  is  the  greatest 
victor. 


l82  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

121.  Let  no  man  think  lightly  of  sin,  saying  in  his  heart, 
It  cannot  overtake  me. 

159.  Let  a  man  make  himself  what  he  preaches  to  others; 
The  well-subdued  may  subdue  others;  one's  self,  in- 
deed, is  hard  to  tame. 

176.  The  man  who  has  transgressed  one  law,  and  (speaks) 

lies, 

And  scoffs  at  the  next  world,  there  is  no  evil  he  will 
not  do. 

223.  Let  a  man  overcome  anger  by  kindness,  evil  by  good ; 
Let  him  conquer  the  stingy  by  a  gift,  the  liar  by  truth. 

354.  The  gift  of  the  Law  exceeds  all  gifts, 

The  sweetness  of  the  Law  exceeds  all  sweetness, 
The  light  of  the  Law  exceeds  all  delight, 
The  extinction  of  thirst  overcomes  all  grief. 

The  eightfold  sacred  formula  declared  by 
Buddha  is  as  follows: — 

1.  One  should  not  destroy  life. 

2.  One  should  not  take  that  which  is  not  given. 

3.  One  should  not  tell  lies. 

4.  One    should    not   become   a    drinker    of    intoxicating 

liquors. 

5.  One  should  refrain  from  unlawful  sexual  intercourse 

— an  ignoble  thing. 

6.  One  should  not  eat  unseasonable  food  at  nights. 

7.  One  should  not  wear  garlands  or  use  perfumes. 

8.  One  should  sleep  on  a  mat  spread  on  the  ground. 

The  first  five  of  these  precepts  are  binding  upon 
every  Buddhist  man,  woman,  and  child.  The  last 
three  are  not  obligatory,  but  a  person  who  wishes 
to  make  special  merit  can  take  them  upon  himself 
for  a  short  season,  and  every  Buddhist  is  supposed 


A    LOOK   AT    BUDDHISM  183 

to  keep  the  last  three  on  their  holy  or  Sabbath 
days.  Besides  these  eight  precepts,  divided  into 
the  five  obligatory  and  the  three  permissive  laws, 
there  is  another  code  which  embraces  ten  sins, 
which  are  considered  especially  heinous.  They 
are  thus  divided: — 

Three  of  the  body. 
Taking  life. 

Theft  (taking  what  has  not  been  given). 
Unlawful  sexual  intercourse. 

Four  of  speech. 
Lying. 
Slander    (includes    "saying    here    what   one    hears 

there"). 

Abuse  (swearing). 
Vain  conversation. 

Three  of  the  mind. 
Covetousness. 
Malice. 
Skepticism. 

And  so  we  could  go  on  quoting  page  after  page 
to  show  the  ethical  beauty  and  high  moral  tone  of 
this  belief,  which  declares  self-control,  wisdom, 
and  universal  charity,  to  be  the  highest  aim  and 
happiness  of  man. 

"But  we  must  remember  that  Buddhism  is 
merely  a  system  of  ethics,  and  that  its  ethics 
are  not  backed  by  moral  sanctions.  For  Bud- 
dhism teaches  that  all  sentient  beings  alike  go 
the  round  of  sang  sara,  reincarnation,  and  are  now 
born  in  the  world  of  men — manusatok — now  in  the 
worlds  above  men — deva  tok — now  in  the  places  of 


184  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

torment  below — narok.  There  is  no  place  in  the 
system  for  a  Sentient  Being  in  and  of  Himself  un- 
changeable, superior  to  all  other  sentient  beings. 
There  is  no  One  who  is  'infinite,  eternal  and  un- 
changeable in  his  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness, 
justice,  goodness,  and  truth/  There  is  no  Giver  of 
moral  law;  no  just  Judge  of  all. 

"Hence,  even  the  so-called  obligatory  precepts 
— sila — are  only  relatively  obligatory.  They  are 
not  binding  upon  all  men  everywhere  by  virtue  of 
divine  right  and  as  being  grounded  in  eternal  prin- 
ciples of  truth ;  but  they  bind  only  such  individuals 
as  by  becoming  Buddhists  assume  their  obliga- 
tions. It  is,  therefore,  only  by  accommodation 
that  we  speak  or  write  in  English  of  Buddhist  law, 
the  Buddhist  church,  sin,  heaven,  hell,  religion. 

"Can  a  system  of  ethics  which  has  no  God,  no 
moral  sanctions  for  its  ethics,  and  no  help  for  man 
outside  of  man  himself,  be  properly  called  a  re- 
ligion?"* 

Now,  let  us  see  what  this  Buddhism  has  done  for 
the  Laos. 

"Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view." 
And,  as  from  our  western  shores,  we  behold  this 
belief  amidst  the  haze  of  oriental  luxuriousness, 
the  clouds  of  eastern  rosy  hue,  it  rises  in  architec- 
tural beauty,  and  in  form  we  declare  it  perfect. 
Then  it  should  follow  that  man  as  a  rational  moral 
being  should  rise  to  a  high  degree  of  natural  beauty 
of  character  under  the  beneficent  teachings  of  this 


*  From  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Dodd. 


A   LOOK   AT   BUDDHISM  185 

belief,  especially,  when  so  well  supported  by  its 
Sacred  Order,  one  hundred  thousand  strong,  in 
the  kingdom. 

But  the  form  of  things  is  very  different  from 
their  natures.  Let  us  look  at  the  influence  of  this 
belief  upon  the  individual,  the  community,  the 
country.  Let  us  look  at  the  way  some  of  the  ob- 
ligatory laws  are  regarded  by  even  the  devout. 
There  is  a  popular  saying  which  runs,  "The  pre- 
cepts of  Gotama  are  the  right  thing  to  accept ;  but 
who  can  observe  them?"  This  is  repeated  to  excul- 
pate themselves  for  not  keeping  the  obligatory 
commands.  To  show  that  these  laws  are  lightly 
held  by  the  people  let  us  look  at  the  first  one  and 
the  manner  of  its  keeping.  It  reads  thus:  "One 
should  not  destroy  life."  From  this  command- 
ment it  is  generally  believed  that  no  Buddhist  eats 
meat.  In  fact,  the  Laos  think  it  hard,  indeed,  if 
they  have  not  meat  curry  at  least  once  a  day.  They 
do  not  especially  like  to  strike  the  blow  that  kills, 
so  they  go  fishing  by  the  scores  and  hundreds 
and  thousands,  pull  the  fish  from  the  water  and 
justify  themselves  by  saying  that  the  fish  straight- 
way die  a  natural  death.  A  man  who  has  laid  up  a 
large  amount  of  merit,  will  feel  that  he  can  afford 
to  strike  a  death  blow  and  not  have  much  deducted 
from  his  credit,  so  he  kills  a  cow  or  a  hog  and  the 
village  has  a  feast.  And  nearly  always  a  Chinaman 
can  be  found  who  is  willing  enough  to  make  a  coin 
by  butchering.  And  so  in  that  way  meat  can  be 
obtained.  The  monks  eat  meat  curry,  and  say 
they  are  blameless  because  some  one  else  took  the 


l86  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

life,  not  they.  Aside  from  this  striving  to  keep 
the  letter  at  the  expense  of  the  spirit,  the  people 
seem  to  have  lost  sight  entirely  of  the  original 
meaning  of  the  command.  I  have  seen  a  man 
drive  a  diseased  buffalo  away  to  the  forest  to  be 
torn  to  pieces  by  vultures  before  life  left  the  body, 
rather  than  strike  a  blow  upon  the  head  and  end 
the  suffering.  And  that  same  man  has  cut  off 
many  a  chicken's  head  that  he  may  have  meat  for 
his  curry.  When  reproached  for  his  inconsistency, 
he  would  say,  "When  hungry  I  forget  the  com- 
mand"; or,  "I  will  make  much  merit  to  cover  the 
sin."  Frogs  are  considered  one  of  the  greatest  of 
delicacies,  and  during  the  first  of  the  rainy  season 
half  of  the  whole  country  goes  a-frog  hunting, 
while  the  other  half  is  a-fishing. 

We  will  take  time  to  glance  at  another  one  of 
these  commands,  the  fourth  one,  which  says,  "One 
should  not  become  a  drinker  of  intoxicating 
liquors."  There  are  few  religious  and  official  cere- 
monies and  observances  in  the  land  that  are  not 
accompanied  with  drinking,  and  no  shame  falls 
upon  the  intoxicated  victim.  Until  recently  every 
village  was  free  to  make  its  own  arrack  and  wine 
ffom  rice  and  juices  of  certain  palm  trees.  There 
is  but  little  riotous  drunkenness,  save  in  connection 
with  civil  and  religious  observances.  At  one  time 
we  had  trouble  with  a  Buddhist  coolie  about  drink- 
ing. In  talking  the  matter  over  with  our  native 
minister,  a  man  whose  knowledge  of  the  facts 
could  not  be  doubted,  much  less  his  word,  he  af- 
firmed that  every  man  in  the  country  drank,  ex- 


A   LOOK  AT   BUDDHISM  187 

cepting  the  Christians.  "Why  is  this?"  I  asked; 
"their  law  forbids  the  drinking  thereof,  surely  they 
know  the  law."  "Ah,  yes,  they  know  the  law,  but 
they  have  no  power  to  obey  the  law.  They  know 
the  law,  but  not  God.  Let  them  turn  their  faces 
to  God,  as  the  Christian  youths  have  done,  and  he 
will  strengthen  them  to  keep  the  law."  And  then 
he  added  slowly  and  thoughtfully,  "But  they  love 
their  old  natures,  they  turn  their  faces  from  God, 
they  will  not  look  to  him  and  be  saved." 

Let  us  hear  from  other  writers  along  this  line. 
Mr.  Young  in  his  book  on  Siam,  The  Kingdom  of 
the  Yellow  Robe,  says : — 

Ask  any  person  you  meet  a  few  questions  about 
the  sage  who  propounded  the  faith  they  are  sup- 
posed to  hold,  and  it  will  be  speedily  discovered 
that  even  those  who  are  most  assiduous  in  their 
attendance  at  the  temple  (monastery),  and  who  are 
most  charitable  in  the  offerings  they  give  to  the 
priests,  know  little  of  the  life  and  less  of  the  teach- 
ings of  him  whom  they  apparently  worship.  .  .  . 
It  is  not  possible  to  call  them  Buddhists  at  all  if 
the  term  is  to  be  used  as  comparable  to  the  term 
Christian,  as  applied  to  the  believers  in  Christ  in 
western  lands.  The  great  moral  precepts  of  this 
religion  are  not  taught  to  them,  are  unknown  to 
them,  and  it  is  very  questionable  if  the  Sanskrit 
words  for  benevolence,  gratitude,  charity,  and 
kindred  virtues  have  any  parallel  in  the  ordinary 
everyday  vocabulary  of  the  people.  Even  if  such 
words  do  exist  they  are  only  understood  by  the 
learned  few,  and  would  be  as  utterly  incompre- 


l88  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

hensible  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people  as  Greek 
and  Latin." 

What  Mr.  Young  says  of  the  Siamese  is  fully  as 
true  of  the  Laos.  The  people  themselves  acknowl- 
edge that  they  do  not  keep  the  five  obligatory  com- 
mandments ;  and  if  the  ethics  and  morals  of  the 
system  are  unknown  to  them,  there  naturally 
comes  the  question,  why  are  there  so  many  Bud- 
dhist monasteries,  why  so  many  monks?  Prob- 
ably the  strongest  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  uni- 
versality of  the  religious  instinct  in  man.  They 
must  have  some  religion,  and  Buddhist  mission- 
aries brought  them  this  one  many  centuries  ago. 
Its  morals  and  ethics  appealed  to  the  Shans  and 
they  adopted  them.  But  the  monks  soon  discov- 
ered that  their  natures  and  desires  were  not 
changed  by  donning  the  sacred  robe.  They  did 
not  love  to  pore  over  the  teachings  of  Gotama, 
for,  though  they  admired  the  precepts,  they  had 
no  power  to  attai-n  to  them.  And  so  the  system 
settled  down  to  a  basis  of  merit  and  demerit  very 
much  like  credit  and  debit. 

To  understand  this  fully,  it  must  be  constantly 
borne  in  mind  that  Buddhists  believe  in  no  soul  as 
the  Christian  world  understands  the  life  within 
man.  Gotama  repeatedly  denies  the  existence  of 
soul,  and  warned  his  followers  against  the  heresy 
of  that  belief.  Yet  some  reason  had  to  be  given 
for  the  existence  here  of  happiness  and  sorrow  and 
their  apparent  unequal  distribution.  So  Buddha 
resorted  to  "an  incomprehensible  mystery,"  the 
doctrine  of  kama. 


A   LOOK   AT   BUDDHISM  189 

"This  is  the  doctrine  that,  as  soon  as  a  sentient 
being  (man,  animal,  or  angel)  dies,  a  new  being  is 
produced  in  a  more  or  less  painful  and  material 
state  of  existence,  according  to  the  kama,  the  de- 
sert or  merit  (or  demerit)  of  the  being  who  had 
died.  The  cause  which  produces  the  new  being  is 
dhanha,  thirst,  or  upadana,  grasping;  which  are  ex- 
pressions for  nearly  similar  states  of  mind.  Sensa- 
tions originate  in  the  contact  of  the  organs  of 
sense  with  the  exterior  world;  from  sensation 
springs  a  desire  to  satisfy  a  felt  want,  a  yearning, 
a  thirst;  from  'thirst'  results  a  'grasping'  after  ob- 
jects to  satisfy  that  desire;  that  grasping  state  of 
mind  causes  the  new  being  (not,  of  course,  a  new 
soul,  but  a  new  set  of  khanda,  a  new  body  with  men- 
tal tendencies  and  capabilities).  The  kama  of  the 
previous  set  of  khanda  or  sentient  being,  then  de- 
termines the  locality,  nature,  and  future  of  the  new 
set  of  khanda,  or  new  sentient  being."* 

Most  assuredly  this  is  an  "incomprehensible 
mystery,"  but  nevertheless  it  is  one  of  the  univer- 
sally accepted  doctrines  of  this  faith.  All  Bud- 
dhist Shans  believe  it,  and  they  strive  in  life  not 
to  attain  unto  virtue  or  righteousness,  but  to  make 
merit  to  add  to  their  credit  against  the  day  of  their 
death.  And  so  the  religion  of  Buddhist  Shans  may 
be  summed  up  in  that  one  word,  merit.  They 
sweep  the  monastery  ground;  build  bridges  and 
salas  and  wats;  make  gifts  for  the  monks,  and  pre- 
sent them  with  daily  food;  give  a  drink  of  water  to 


*  From  Davids'  Buddhism. 


I9O  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

a  thirsty  traveler;  all  to  add  a  little  credit  to  their 
account.  A  coop  of  chickens  on  its  way  to  mar- 
ket was  set  down  on  the  road  side  while  the  bearer 
rested  in  the  shade  for  a  minute.  The  chickens 
were  hot  and  panting  with  thirst.  As  my  jinrikisha 
passed  the  coop,  my  Buddhist  coolie  called  to  a 
child  standing  near,  "Run  get  a  dipper  and  water 
the  chickens  for  me  so  that  I  can  make  a  little 
merit."  Of  course,  this  belief  tends  to  make  char- 
ity at  a  premium  and  unkindness  below  par.  But 
can  the  leopard  change  his  spots  or  do  men  gather 
grapes  of  thistles?  Nay,  and  so  we  cannot  pluck 
the  perfect  fruit  of  love  when  the  roots  are  all 
nourished  and  supported  by  selfishness. 

But  let  us  again  quote  from  Mr.  Young.  He  has 
been  speaking  at  length  of  the  different  powers, 
laws,  etc.,  of  Buddhism,  and  concludes  by  say- 
ing:— 

"...  But  the  above  lines  will  be  sufficient  to 
outline  the  moral  philosophy  of  that  system  which 
not  only  the  monks  should  bear  out  in  their  lives, 
but  to  which  every  true  believer  in  Buddhism  is 
expected  to  conform.  Practically,  however,  these 
counsels  are  so  many  obsolete  laws,  long  since  dead 
and  forgotten.  Outside  the  permanent  monks 
and  a  few  students,  the  vast  majority  of  the  people 
know  nothing  whatever  of  the  system;  and  if  some 
of  the  learned  writers  upon  Buddhism  in  Europe 
were  to  preach  their  Buddhist  sermons  to  the  sub- 
jects of  the  only  independent  Buddhist  king  re- 
maining, the  people  would  stare  in  wonder  at  the 
new  teachers  and  ask  one  another  what  strange 


A   LOOK   AT   BUDDHISM  IQI 

doctrines  were  these  that  were  being  preached  unto 
them." 

It  is  readily  granted  that  this  belief  in  merit  is 
better  than  no  belief  at  all;  and  it  has  made  of  the 
nation  a  comparatively  kind-hearted  and  generous 
people,  but  we  do  maintain  that  it  is  less  than  the 
faintest  shadow  of  a  resemblance  to  the  perfect 
form  of  ethical  beauty  that  the  religion  should 
build  if  ethics  and  morals  are  what  constitute  a 
true  religion;  and  that  instead  of  "going  on  to 
perfection,"  each  successive  generation  drops  be- 
low the  previous  one.  This,  from  their  point  of 
view,  and  now  one  word  from  ours.  We  who  bear 
the  name  of  Christ  believe  that  the  noblest  of  all 
life  is  the  life  of  service.  The  Son  of  man  came 
not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  the 
servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  we  trace 
along  down  through  the  pages  of  history  the 
names  of  the  great  men  are  invariably  those  who 
have  served.  Buddhism  fails  utterly  here.  Sir 
John  Bowring  dedicated  his  book,  Siam,  to  the  late 
king,  the  supreme  sacred  head  of  Buddhism,  yet 
he  found  it  necessary  with  consistency  to  speak  as 
follows : — 

"The  real  and  invincible  objection  to  Buddhism 
is  its  selfishness,  its  disregard  of  others,  its  de- 
ficience  in  all  the  promptings  of  sympathy  and 
benevolence.  Its  highest  virtue  is  exhibited  in 
fruitless  contemplation,  its  noblest  reward  is  to  be 
found  in  eternal  repose.  A  monk  seems  to  care 
nothing  about  the  condition  of  those  who  surround 
him;  he  makes  no  effort  for  their  elevation  or  im- 


192  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

provement.  He  scarcely  reproves  their  sins,  or 
encourages  their  virtues;  he  is  self-satisfied  with 
his'own  superior  holiness,  and  would  not  move  his 
finger  to  remove  any  mass  of  human  misery.  .  .  . 
Compared  with  the  privileges  and  exemptions 
which  the  monks  enjoy,  their  privations  are  few ; 
'they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin';  they  make  no 
contributions  to  statute  labor;  they  pay  no  taxes, 
render  no  services  to  the  sovereign  or  the  state." 


CHAPTER  XV 

LAOS  WATS 

AMONG  the  Shans  there  are  but  three  tenets  of 
Buddhism  that  are  understood,  either  by  the  people 
or  the  members  of  the  Sacred  Order,  namely,  the 
doctrine  of  kama,  or  merit  and  demerit;  the  "in- 
comprehensible mystery"  which  denies  a  soul  and 
yet  establishes  transmigration,  and  the  other  doc- 
trine of  no  Creator,  no  God.  The  beautiful  ethics 
and  sound  morals  are  simply  nonexistent.  So  we 
must  look  for  some  other  reason  to  account  for  the 
immense  following,  in  a  nominal  way,  of  the  re- 
ligion. Aside  from  the  fundamental  reason  of  the 
religious  instinct  of  man,  the  answer  is  found  in 
the  system  of  organization  or  order,  and  in  the  fact 
that  Buddhists  are  not  exclusive.  Gotama  taught 
that  it  was  heresy  to  consult  soothsayers,  put  trust 
in  auguries,  or  to  value  charms  and  prognostics. 
Yet  Buddhists  admit  all  of  this  and  more — witch- 
craft, for  instance — and  not  alone  in  the  laymen, 
but  the  very  monastery  walls  shelter  and  foster 
these  beliefs. 

Since  merit  is  the  chief  and  only  aim  of  Bud- 
dhism among  the  Shans,  and  the  Sacred  Order  is 
the  highest  expression  of  this  merit,  a  large  per 
cent  of  the  men  of  the  land  have  at  some  period 
of  their  lives  been  a  member  of  the  order.  An- 
other form  of  wmY-making  that  presses  hard  for 
'3  193 


194  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

first  honor,  is  the  building  of  wats,  prachedls,  salas, 
and  idols. 

The  wats  themselves  are  the  most  pleasing  to  the 
eye  of  all  the  architectural  creations  of  the  land. 
In  fact,  until  recently  they  were  the  only  buildings 
worthy  of  any  consideration  from  that  viewpoint. 
They  always  occupy  the  most  attractive  sites  in 
the  community,  usually  crowning  the  hilltops  or 
mounds  of  prominence,  and  are  surrounded  and 
sometimes  overshadowed  by  wide-spreading  ban- 
yans and  sacred  bo  trees.  After  a  journey  on  pony 
or  elephant  across  bare  rice  plains  which  hurl  into 
one's  face  glare  as  well  as  heat;  or  through  matted 
jungles,  it  is  deliciously  refreshing  to  face,  by  a 
bend  in  the  road,  one  of  these  wats,  with  its 
shadowy  recesses  beneath  green  and  cool  trees;  its 
beauty  of  towering  palmettoes  above  and  trim  park 
beneath;  its  glory  in  color  of  facade  and  temple 
roof;  its  architectural  splendor  and  beauty;  its 
musical  tinkle  of  bells;  and,  above  all,  its  look  of 
restfulness  and  peace.  One  feels  instinctively  the 
impulse  of  worship,  but  draw  near  and  you  are 
shocked  by  the  cheap  material  used;  the  tawdry 
effect;  the  temporary  appearance  of  walls  and  roofs 
— they  are  all  but  crumbling;  the  falling  away  of 
veneering  of  walls  and  gilding  of  fagades;  the  ac- 
cumulation of  dirt  and  dust,  bats,  and  spiders  at 
home  in  the  dark  nooks;  the  lack  of  solemnity  in 
the  groups  of  chatting  women  and  monks;  and  the 
glaring  nonobservance  of  the  rules  of  the  order 
by  the  monks  themselves.  At  a  distance  rest  and 
worship  were  suggested;  but  upon  approach  it  is 


LAOS   WATS  195 

revealed  as  stagnation  and  the  empty  form  of  relig- 
ious observance. 

A  wat  is  more  truly  a  monastery  than  a  temple. 
It  consists  of  several  buildings  scattered  about  a 
park-like  ground,  which  is  inclosed  by  a  brick  wall, 
usually  plastered  to  look  like  white  stone  at  a  dis- 
tance. The  building  where  the  idols  are  kept  and 
where  the  people  come  to  worship  is  called  a 
wihara,  or  sometimes  wihan,  and  is  the  central  and 
most  prominent  feature  of  a  wat.  About  it,  ar- 
ranged on  one  or  two  sides  of  the  grounds  run  the 
long,  low  buildings  containing  the  cells  of  the 
monks.  There  is  also  a  bell  tower  and  a  library,  if 
the  wat  be  the  chief  one  of  the  diocese.  The  ground 
on  which  the  wat  rests  has  been  dedicated  forever 
to  the  chapter.  It  is  the  property  of  the  order. 
The  buildings  and  idols  are  dedicated  in  the  same 
way.  There  is  no  god  to  whom  they  are  conse- 
crated. 

Excepting  the  library  the  wihara  is  the  most 
sacred  part  of  the  grounds.  It  is  a  large,  oblong 
building,  having  its  top  covered  with  tiered  roofs, 
which  are  tiled  with  red-clay  tiles,  or  preferably 
with  porcelain  ones  of  many  colors  and  hues,  or 
covered  with  wooden  shingles  or  with  thatch.  The 
gabled  ends  of  the  roof  rise  upward  and  end  in  a 
backward  curve  of  wood  or  metal,  which  is  bril- 
liantly gilded  and  set  with  mosaics  of  glass,  enamel 
or  bits  of  chinaware.  From  the  extreme  end  of 
each,  there  sometimes  hangs  a  brass  bell,  with  long 
clapper  ending  in  a  flattened  shape,  molded  like 
the  leaf  of  the  sacred  bo  tree.  The  gentlest  breeze 


196  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

catches  these  leaves  and  sways  them  so  as  to  strike 
the  pure  metal  of  the  bell.  A  soft  tinkle  is  the  re- 
sult, 

"As  if  a  choir 
Of  golden-nested  birds  in  heaven  were  singing; 

And  with  a  lulling  sound 

The  music  floats  around 
And  drops  like  balm  into  the  drowsy  ear." 

The  triangular-shaped  fagade  often  is  richly  set 
in  colored  glass  and  mosaics,  and  is  either  traced 
in  gold  designs  or  the  center  is  entirely  gold  sur- 
rounded by  a  border  of  mosaics  and  glass.  A 
colonnade  may  or  may  not  run  around  the  wihara, 
but  if  it  does,  the  roof  is  supported  by  immense 
columns,  which  give  a  massive  effect.  From  a  dis- 
tance it  is  indescribably  rich  and  beautiful.  Well 
might  an  enraptured  foreigner,  accustomed  to  the 
cold  white  or  somber  shades  of  his  architectural 
creations,  cry  out  with  pleasure  when  first  behold- 
ing one  of  these  large  temples  from  a  distance. 

The  display  of  gold  is  surprising,  and  one  can 
readily  understand  how  there  is  an  annual  import 
of  gold  leaf  into  Siam  for  this  purpose,  amounting 
to  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  Mexican,  besides 
the  quantity  of  gold  leaf  that  is  beaten  out  by  native 
smiths,  especially  at  Bangkok.  All  over  the  entire 
country  gold  leaf  is  for  sale  in  the  markets.  It  is 
sold  in  folded  sheets  of  paper  about  two  by  three 
inches  in  size.  A  merit-maker  can  buy  a  few 
sheets  of  this  leaf,  present  it  to  the  monks,  and  have 
a  credit  written  down  to  his  existence. 

The  walls  of  the  wihara  are  sometimes  painted 


LAOS  WATS  197 

in  the  native  style,  which  is  very  like  the  familiar 
painting  of  the  Chinese,  the  subjects  being  taken 
from  the  mythical  existences  of  Buddha.  This,  of 
course,  gives  room  for  a  rare  display  of  animal  life. 
Sometimes  one  sees  pictures  of  the  various  Bud- 
dhist hells,  the  principal  ones  of  which  are  eight  in 
number.  These  are  horrible,  and  will  give  a  for- 
eigner "the  creeps"  for  weeks  to  come.  They  are 
often  impure  in  conception,  and  should  not  be  tol- 
erated, far  less  blazoned  upon  the  sacred  walls. 
Burning  alive,  scalping,  flaying,  and  such  forms  of 
torture  are  among  the  most  innocent  scenes  de- 
picted. I  am  glad  to  say  that  Laos  Shans  are  not 
quite  so  fond  of  thus  decorating  their  temples  as 
are  their  southern  kinsmen.  Mr.  Young  tells  of 
an  amusing  confusion  of  personages,  chronology, 
and  events,  seen  upon  one  of  the  Bangkok  temple 
walls : — 

"He  —  the  artist  —  has  placed  a  number  of 
European  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  time  of 
Louis  XIV  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  where  they  are 
enjoying  themselves  with  dance  and  song.  It  is 
a  rural  picnic.  Under  the  hill  is  a  railway  tunnel, 
with  a  train  about  to  enter,  and  on  the  summit  is 
Buddha  in  a  contemplative  attitude  brooding  over 
the  whole,  but  owing  to  the  faulty  perspective  of 
the  drawing,  it  is  impossible  to  state  whether 
Buddha  is  contemplating  the  scene  of  merriment  or 
brooding  over  the  curious  handiwork  of  the  de- 
signer." 

These  wiharas  are  said  to  face  always  the  east, 
and  I  have  never  seen  one  otherwise.  This  is  to 


198  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

allow  the  image  within  to  look  steadfastly  toward 
the  rising  sun.  Thus  those  who  seek  the  temple 
during  the  early  morning  hour  will  find  their  god 
wrapt  in  a  glow  of  light  which,  though  borrowed, 
is  very  effective.  I  have  noted  frequently  that  the 
windows  of  these  wiharas  are  arranged  so  as  to 
leave  the  body  of  the  room  in  somberness  while 
the  shrine  stands  out  in  a  glow  of  light.  This  ef- 
fect is  impossible  to  attain  when  the  wihara  has  an 
open  front  or  side,  as  is  often  the  case. 

There  may  be  one  or  several  hundred  idols  upon 
the  shrine,  and  these  may  vary  in  size  from  an  inch 
in  height  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  as  is  the 
case  in  the  reclining  idol  in  Wat  Po,  Bangkok.  It 
is  interesting  to  know  that  an  idol  does  not  be- 
come a  god  in  the  process  of  construction  until  its 
eyes  are  put  in.  That  act  is  the  occasion  of  a  great 
ceremony.  A  holy  day  is  selected,  the  event  ad- 
vertised, and  a  large  concourse  of  people  meet  to 
see  the  monks  sprinkle  holy  water  and  the  smith 
set  the  pearl  eyes.  At  this  time  the  image  is  also 
gilded,  and  it  is  a  god  ready  to  be  worshiped.  It 
may  be  true  that  the  "intelligent  and  highly  spir- 
itual" do  not  worship  these  idols,  but  look  through 
them  to  Buddha.  But  where  are  the  "intelligent 
and  highly  spiritual"  to  be  found  under  the  foster- 
ing care  of  this  religion? 

The  dormitories  of  the  monks  should  be  bare  of 
furniture,  and  are  nearly  always  so.  At  the  back 
of  the  small  room  is  suspended  a  cord,  upon  which 
hang  the  extra  garments.  There  is  sometimes  a 
cotton  sail  upon  the  floor  for  a  bed,  and  again  only 


LAOS   WATS  199 

a  mat.  A  small  water  jar  and  a  few  such  simple 
things  are  sometimes  found.  The  monks  of  high 
rank  often  have  their  cells  fitted  up  with  comfort. 
Indeed,  some  are  elegantly  furnished,  as  furnish- 
ing goes  in  that  land. 

The  value  of  material  used  in  wa/-building  de- 
pends upon  the  means  of  the  person,  family,  or  vil- 
lage that  builds  the  wat.  The  wat  luang  is  the  head 
wat  of  each  diocese,  where  resides  the  monk  in 
office  corresponding  somewhat  to  "bishop."  At 
the  wat  luangs  are  found  the  libraries,  which  are 
elevated  tower-like  buildings  reached  by  means  of 
a  ladder.  Here  the  sacred  dham,  or  books,  con- 
taining the  ethics  and  commands  of  the  religion  are 
kept.  They  are  written  with  ink  on  paper,  or  with 
a  stylus  on  palm  leaves  from  one  to  two  feet  long 
and  some  three  or  four  inches  wide.  Each  oblong 
leaf  is  pierced  at  both  ends  with  a  round  hole.  A 
cord  is  run  through  these  holes  and  thus  the  leaves 
are  bound  together.  The  top  and  bottom  are  often 
shielded  by  a  wooden  leaf,  which  is  gayly  gilded 
and  decorated.  The  long  cord  which  runs  through 
the  leaves  is  drawn  tightly,  and  the  free  ends 
wrapped  around  the  whole,  holding  the  leaves 
firmly  in  place.  When  one  wishes  to  read  the 
book,  the  cord  is  unwrapped  and  allows  play  for  the 
leaves,  which  can  be  turned  at  pleasure. 

These  books  are  not  written  in  the  vernacular 
wholly,  but  contain  so  many  Pali  words  and  ex- 
pressions that  it  is  very  difficult  for  any  but  a 
student  to  understand  them.  Then,  why  do  the 
natives  sit  and  listen  while  they  are  being  read? 


2OO  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

Because  they  listen  to  make  merit,  and  their 
maxim,  "Blessed  is  he  that  heareth  the  Law,"  does 
not  enforce  intellectual  attention.  One  can  sit 
within  sound  of  the  monk's  voice,  and  while  he 
reads,  can  think  of  the  grand  cremation  to  take 
place  next  month,  or  of  the  theater  he  attended  the 
night  before,  or  of  anything  else  he  may  wish.  He 
can  allow  the  eyes  to  rove  to  the  stranger  who  is 
passing,  and  the  mind  can  puzzle  as  to  who  he  may 
be,  and  yet  he  can  reap  merit,  for  "Blessed  is  he 
that  heareth  the  Law." 

At  one  time  we  were  camped  in  a  wat  luang 
ground  when  a  monk  came  for  a  dhatn  to  read  at  a 
special  wat  service  to  be  held  next  day.  He  re- 
jected many  of  the  books,  and  seemed  difficult  to 
please.  I  afterwards  learned  that  he  was  searching 
for  a  very  short  dham.  He  said  that  his  parishion- 
ers had  instructed  him  to  "make  it  short."  So 
without  regard  to  contents  he  was  selecting  his 
book. 

Another  part  of  every  wat  is  the  bell  tower. 
Strictly  speaking,  it  is  no  bell  tower  at  all,  but  a 
drum  tower.  Among  the  Laos,  drums  are  more 
popular  than  bells,  and  when  the  latter  exist  they 
are  struck  instead  of  being  rung.  Drums  and 
bells  are  not  used  to  call  the  people  to  worship,  but 
they  constitute  a  part  of  worship,  the  beating  of 
them  by  monks  being  merit.  Several  drums  are 
in  every  tower,  each  varying  in  size  and  tone  from 
the  other.  Much  skill  is  manifested  in  the  beating 
of  them.  Usually  the  first  note  is  heard  as  twilight 
begins  to  fade.  It  comes  in  a  low,  full  musical 


LAOS   WATS  201 

vibration.  As  it  rolls  away  in  the  distance,  an- 
other is  sent  forth  as  full  and  sweet,  and  then  an- 
other until  they  begin  to  chase  each  other  and 
hasten  in  their  movements.  Then  a  higher, 
sweeter  note  joins  in  and  alternates  with  it.  The 
interval  in  tone  is  such  as  to  make  the  harmony 
perfect.  These  two  are  shortly  joined  by  a  third. 
And  if  there  be  a  bell,  it  too  is  struck  at  certain 
points  in  the  beating.  Wats  differ  much  in  the 
tone  of  their  drums  and  in  the  skill  of  the  monks 
in  beating,  but  all  wats  are  alike  in  having  drum- 
beating  a  very  prominent  part  of  their  daily 
routine. 

These  drums  are  beat  on  special  holidays  and 
upon  the  Buddhist  sacred  days,  and  always  when 
there  occurs  an  eclipse  of  the  moon.  Then  every 
drum  in  the  land  clatters  at  a  rate  that  destroys  all 
harmony.  At  one  time  when  we  were  itinerating, 
the  missionary  gave  an  open-air  stereopticon  lec- 
ture on  the  life  of  Christ.  But  first  were  shown  a 
few  native  pictures  and  then  a  chart  of  the  great 
solar  system,  with  the  planets  revolving.  As  the 
earth's  moon  began  to  go  into  eclipse,  the  crowd 
gayly  called  out  to  some  monks  near  by,  ''Run, 
run,  and  beat  your  drums;  quick,  or  it  will  all  be 
devoured!"  This  chart  always  makes  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  the  natives,  though  at  first  they 
neither  understand  nor  believe  it.  Their  sacred 
books  teach  that  an  eclipse  is  caused  by  a  monster 
dragon  devouring  the  moon,  and  so  they  make  as 
much  noise  as  they  can  to  frighten  him  away. 

In  wat  grounds,  and  sometimes  isolated,  is  to  be 


202  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

found  a  pleasing  style  of  architectural  creation 
known  as  a  prachedl.  It  is  a  pyramidal  monument, 
and  the  tapering  spire  may  end  in  conical  form. 
These  prachedis  contain  or  cover  some  relic  or  im- 
age of  Buddha,  and  are  as  sacred  as  the  wihara. 
When  a  true  relic  is  wanting,  an  imitation  serves 
the  purpose  quite  as  satisfactorily. 

Once  every  year  one  sees  wat  grounds  filled  with 
small  mounds  of  sand  gayly  decorated.  The  sand 
is  brought  by  women  and  children  in  baskets  and 
piled  in  these  mounds.  They  are  decorated  with 
green  boughs  and  colored  papers,  cut  and  fash- 
ioned into  brilliant  flowers  and  banners.  Upon 
the  mounds  offerings  of  rice,  sweetmeats,  and 
fruits  are  placed,  and  water  is  poured  at  the  base. 
Then  follows  a  very  strange  part  of  the  ceremony. 
White  cords  are  fastened  to  the  mounds  and  are 
passed  into  the  wihara  and  attached  to  the  idol  to 
let  it  know  that  the  mounds  are  outside.  Poor  idol, 
how  dull  and  stupid!  The  little  mounds  are  play 
wats  and  are  considered  to  bring  great  merit  to 
the  builders.  The  sand  is  afterwards  used  to  cast 
over  the  wat  park,  keeping  it  white  and  level. 

There  are  many  marks  upon  rocks  in  Siam  that 
are  said  to  be  footprints  of  Buddha.  Over  each  is 
built  a  wat,  and  these  are  considered  especially 
sacred.  There  is  one  of  these  footprints  near 
Chieng  Mai  upon  a  mountain  top,  some  five  miles 
from  the  city.  Another  one  is  found  in  the  Chieng 
Mai  rapids,  and  still  another  is  located  at  Mount 
Prabat — 'Sacred  Foot — which  is  some  eighty  miles 
from  Bangkok,  and  is  one  of  the  most  holy  places 


LAOS   WATS  203 

in  the  whole  kingdom.  Pilgrimages  are  made  by 
wmY-seekers  to  these  places  very  much  as 
Mohammedans  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

A  wat  is  not  alone  monastery  and  temple,  but 
is  inn  as  well,  there  being  no  hotels  or  public  houses 
in  the  country.  A  stranger  can  enter  at  any  hour 
of  the  day  or  night  and  find  welcome  and  shelter. 
No  charge  is  made,  for  giving  of  the  hospitality  is 
merit,  and  so  is  sufficient  bun.  There  is  usually 
upon  the  wat  ground  a  sala,  or  rest  house,  which 
can  be  used  by  the  traveling  public.  A  foreigner 
or  native  is  free  to  stop  for  a  day  or  a  night  or 
longer.  The  wat  ground  is  a  social  center  also. 
There  are  no  daily  papers  or  clubs  to  scatter  news 
and  form  a  medium  of  exchange,  so  the  parishioners 
gather  at  their  wat  and  chat  and  gossip  and  joke. 
On  gala  days  or  holidays  the  wat  is  thronged  with 
people,  and  there  are  several  forms  of  entertain- 
ments. 

At  one  time  an  idol  was  to  be  dedicated  in  a 
monastery  near  Lakawn.  Several  of  the  missionaries 
of  the  station  decided  to  go  out  to  the  grounds,  as 
the  ceremonies  were  of  such  a  nature  as  to  draw 
people  from  over  a  large  district  hitherto  untouched 
by  our  station  work.  The  pressure  of  regular  work 
was  such  that  the  trip  could  not  be  made  until 
the  third  and  last  day,  so  early  that  morning  we 
turned  our  ponies'  heads  down  the  road  toward 
the  distant  temple.  The  sun  was  already  hot, 
though  it  was  but  the  third  hour  of  the  day.  The 
dust  was  suffocating,  for  the  ground  had  been 
burned  to  powder  by  the  scorching  sun  of  the  dry 


2O4  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

season.  The  air  quivered  with  the  intensity  of  the 
heat.  We  pulled  down  our  large  pith  hats  and 
raised  our  double  umbrellas,  and  tried  to  think  of 
the  message  we  had  to  deliver  instead  of  letting 
our  thoughts  dwell  on  the  discomforts  of  the  way. 
In  due  time  we  came  within  sound  of  the  festivities 
of  the  wat  and  a  bend  in  the  road  brought  us  face 
to  face  with  the  scene. 

The  wat  was  partly  overshadowed  by  banyans, 
palms,  and  palmettoes,  which  were  standing  erect 
and  stately  in  the  dead  calm.  The  richly-tiled  roof 
and  gilded  facade  were  fairly  resplendent  in  a  glory 
of  light  as  they  caught  the  sun's  rays.  There  was 
an  air  of  festivity  abroad;  banners  hung  aloft,  and 
newly-erected  booths  were  rilled  to  overflowing 
with  people  and  offerings.  The  large,  open  court 
before  the  temple,  which  lay  unprotected  from  the 
sun,  was  destitute  of  people  save  as  they  hurried 
across  it.  No  one  cared  to  tarry  there  in  the  blaz- 
ing heat  and  dust.  A  long  line  of  empty  baskets 
ran  from  the  temple  gate  across  the  court  to  the 
feet  of  our  ponies.  To  the  left  were  several  ele- 
phant howdahs,  and  near  by  was  a  stationary  ladder 
by  means  of  which  the  visiting  dignitaries  could 
dismount  from  their  elephants  without  causing  the 
beast  to  kneel.  The  howdahs  were  resting  upon 
the  ground  in  groups,  and  the  drivers  were  squat- 
ting beneath  their  shade,  lazily  watching  their  im- 
mense beasts  that  were  hobbled  within  a  thicket 
near  by.  In  front  of  the  wat  walls  were  arranged  in 
rows  lines  of  miniature  wats,  built  of  bamboo,  and 
containing  gifts  for  the  monks.  There  were  hun- 


LAOS   WATS  2O5 

dreds  of  them  and  they  made  a  gay  picture  against 
the  rich  background.  They  were  decorated  with 
bright-colored  papers,  and  were  rich  with  their  con- 
tents of  yellow  robes,  pillows,  mats,  cheroots, 
matches,  water  jars,  and  coins  suspended  from 
flower  trees  by  binding  each  with  a  circlet  of  cloth. 
These  were  all  gifts  from  the  people  to  the  monks 
of  the  diocese.  About  sixty  wats  were  participat- 
ing in  the  ceremonies,  so  an  immense  amount  of 
gifts  were  necessary  to  go  around.  Each  of  the 
sixty  wats  had  a  large  delegation  of  monks  present. 
So  the  shaved  head  and  yellow  robe  was  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  features  of  the  scene. 

We  tied  our  ponies  under  a  tree,  and  leaving  a 
boy  to  guard  them,  started  across  the  court.  But 
before  we  had  taken  many  steps,  a  woman  came 
running  toward  us,  and  as  she  approached  she  fell 
upon  her  knees  in  the  manner  of  an  inferior  to  a 
superior,  and  presented  us  with  some  plums  and 
flowers,  which  she  bore  on  a  tray  made  of  beaten 
silver.  She  was  a  slave  of  the  Princess  B — ,  and 
she  bore  an  invitation  from  her  mistress  to  come 
to  her  booth.  The  princess  was  well  known  to  the 
ladies  of  the  party,  and  we  were  glad  to  accept  of 
her  hospitality,  for  we  were  hot  and  thirsty,  but 
had  we  not  cared  to  do  so  it  would  have  been 
best  to  have  called  long  enough  to  pay  our  re- 
spects to  her  and  her  father.  The  booth  was 
within  the  monastery  wall  and  under  the  shade  of 
a  large  bo  tree.  We  discovered  that  the  princess's 
father  was  the  patron  prince  of  the  ceremonies,  and 
that  his  booth  commanded  a  view  of  the  entire 


2C>6  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

ground.  The  princess  was  affable  and  talked 
easily  and  readily.  She  told  us  that  the  dedicatory 
services  over  the  idol  had  already  been  held,  but 
that  none  of  the  crowd  had  yet  begun  to  disperse 
nor  would  they  until  after  the  fireworks  of  the  after- 
noon. She  then  said  in  an  earnest  way  that 
we  would  have  abundant  opportunity  to  make 
merit  that  day,  for  so  many  people  were  present. 
Her  friendly  wish  is  significant,  as  it  reveals  the 
attitude  of  monks  and  leaders  towards  mission- 
aries at  such  times.  They  feel  that  we  are  there  to 
make  merit  and  continue  to  think  so,  even  after  it 
is  explained  to  the  contrary.  They  further  feel  that 
by  allowing  us  to  make  merit,  they  in  turn  will 
reap  merit. 

We  had  not  been  seated  long  when  an  abbot  an- 
nounced to  the  chau  that  all  was  ready  for  the 
reading  of  the  Buddhist  scripture.  The  chau  re- 
plied, jocosely,  "Very  well,  but  make  it  short." 
The  abbot  retired,  but  we  first  caught  his  wink  to 
the  chau,  as  he  said,  "Aye,  we  will."  In  a  few 
seconds  a  gong  sounded  and  everyone  quickly 
turned  toward  the  bo  tree  and  raised  their  folded 
hands  in  worship.  Lighted  tapers  were  placed  by 
the  assembly  between  the  fingers  of  their  folded 
hands  and  were  raised  as  their  heads  bowed  to  the 
ground.  All  the  while  the  sonorous  tones  of  the 
monk  as  he  chanted  the  sacred  words  rolled  out 
over  the  heads  of  the  worshipers  and  away  into  the 
forest  beyond.  We  quietly  withdrew,  with  a 
prayer  in  our  hearts  that  this  princely  family  might 
keep  their  promise  to  read  the  literature  we  had 


LAOS   WATS  2O7 

given  them,  and  stopped  upon  the  outskirts  of  the 
crowd,  where  all  were  laughing  and  chatting  and 
paying  no  attention  to  the  service  at  the  bo  tree. 
Here  we  could  make  friends  with  the  peasants  from 
far  villages  and  distribute  literature  while  the 
service  was  in  progress  in  the  distance.  But  we 
were  too  soon  interrupted,  as  the  service  was  con- 
cluded and  there  burst  forth  a  joyous  sound  of 
music  and  dance.  At  once  there  was  a  general 
push  toward  the  wihara  beside  which  was  a  stand 
where  musicians  were  seated  playing  industriously 
upon  their  instruments,  while  the  dancers  per- 
formed in  the  center  of  a  large  ring  made  by  the 
crowd.  They  were  all  young  men,  seven  in  num- 
ber, and  were  gayly  attired  in  bright  colors.  The 
first  movement  of  the  dance  was  slow  and  stately 
and  consisted  of  a  sort  of  prancing  step.  They 
went  round  in  a  circle,  lifting  one  foot  at  a  time, 
keeping  it  suspended  high  up  in  the  air  for  several 
seconds  while  their  arms  were  outstretched  like 
wings.  It  looked  very  comical  and  absurd  to  us, 
but  the  spectators  were  enraptured.  All  the  while 
they  chanted  songs,  which  were  stories  in  rhyme, 
and  I  am  sorry  to  say  were  very  impure.  As  the 
dance  progressed  the  body  began  more  and  more 
to  keep  time  with  the  music,  and  soon  there  was 
a  whirl  of  figures  that  beggars  description.  When 
a  climax  in  the  story  or  dance  was  reached,  the 
dancers  suddenly  stopped  and  prostrated  them- 
selves before  the  chan,  who  sat  in  his  booth  near  by. 
He  threw  rupees  to  them,  which  they  scrambled 
for.  The  dancers  had  made  merit  by  their 


208  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

formance,  and  the  chau  now  made  merit  by  giving 
them  the  money.  They  in  turn  made  additional 
merit  by  allowing  the  chau  to  make  merit  upon 
them.  The  dance  again  proceeded,  and  as  we 
turned  to  leave,  we  saw  the  chau  and  abbot  holding 
their  sides  with  laughter  over  a  joke  of  the  per- 
formers that  sent  us  away  sick  at  heart.  These 
jokes  were  listened  to  without  a  blush  or  sense  of 
shame. 

Our  talk  with  a  group  of  villagers  beneath  a  tree 
was  interrupted  by  loud  clashing  of  gongs  which 
announced  that  it  was  time  for  all  present  to  make 
their  offerings  to  the  monks.  The  long  row  of 
empty  baskets  was  quickly  filled  with  rice,  fruit, 
and  sweetmeats  of  all  kinds.  The  abbot,  assisted 
by  a  staff,  superintended  the  distribution  of  the  gifts 
to  the  representatives  of  the  various  wats.  In  the 
same  manner  the  miniature  temples  were  dis- 
tributed. The  best  and  richest  were  stored  away 
within  the  wihara  for  use  of  the  chapter  of  the 
wat.  The  crowd  now  began  to  disperse,  some 
drinking  and  gambling,  others  watching  the  danc- 
ing, others  again  listening  to  the  music,  while  just 
a  stone's  throw  away  a  cockfight  was  a  center  of 
interest.  About  the  chart's  booth  was  a  large  con- 
course of  people,  watching  with  awe  and  admira- 
tion all  that  he  and  his  family  did.  Groups  of 
"yankee-like"  market  women  were  selling  their 
fruits  and  sweetmeats,  and  all  were  gay  and  happy 
and  chatty,  though  there  was  no  boisterousness  or 
noisy  talk.  On  the  whole  the  picture  presented 
was  more  like  that  of  a  country  fair  than  of  a  re- 


LAOS   WATS  2O9 

ligious  gathering.  There  were  children  every- 
where, looking  on  with  wide-open  eyes  and  drink- 
ing in  eagerly  everything,  both  good  and  bad. 

In  the  afternoon  the  services  were  concluded 
with  fireworks.  The  name  at  once  brings  to  mind 
the  grand  pyrotechnic  displays  familiar  to  every 
American.  But  this  is  a  very  different  affair.  It 
consists  of  sending  off  into  the  air  immense  rocket- 
like  works,  which,  as  they  swiftly  ascend,  whiz  and 
screech  by  means  of  whistles  fastened  to  their  side. 
They  leave  behind  a  trail  of  smoke,  and  as  they 
reach  the  limit  of  their  power,  they  turn  and  slowly 
descend  to  earth  again.  These  rockets  are  made 
by  the  monks,  long  bamboo  poles  serving  as  the 
foundation.  These  vary  from  twelve  to  thirty  or 
forty  feet  in  length.  When  finished  they  are  bound 
with  gayly-colored  paper,  and  are  carried  on  the 
shoulders  of  men  to  the  ground,  where  they  are  to 
be  used.  There  a  temporal y  booth  is  erected  to 
receive  them  and  a  scaffolding  some  thirty  feet 
high,  is  put  up  from  ivhich  to  send  them  off.  This 
is  done  by  resting  the  bawk-fai — the  rockets — 
obliquely  at  an  angle  of  thirty-five  degrees  upon 
clasps  at  the  top  of  the  scaffolding.  A  fuse  is  held 
at  the  lower  end  by  a  man,  and  this  monster  rocket 
shoots  into  the  air  amid  the  cheers  of  spectators, 
the  rattle  of  drums,  and  the  blessings  of  monks. 
It  ascends  a  great  height,  when  it  describes  a  grace- 
ful curve  and  starts  upon  its  downward  path.  The 
aim  is  such  as  to  cause  it  to  fall  upon  some  plain 
or  uninhabited  tract  of  land.  This  bawk-fai  ex- 
hibit is  one  of  the  most  popular  and  highly- 
14 


2IO  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

esteemed  forms  of  merit,  and,  as  a  missionary  has 
laughingly  said,  it  is  truly  merit  in  its  highest  form. 
These  exhibits  mark  the  closing  months  of  each 
dry  season  of  the  year,  and  are  hailed  with  delight 
by  the  people  and  with  equally  marked  dread  by 
ponies,  who  are  frightened  by  the  noise  and  un- 
usual sight  of  a  black,  screeching  object  flying 
overhead. 

The  wats  of  the  Laos  are  thoroughly  typical  of 
the  heart  religion  they  teach.  At  a  distance  there 
is  much  promise  of  good.  But  when  near  enough 
to  lose  the  enchantment  of  distance,  one  sees  how 
worthless  it  all  is — how  inconsistent,  how  contra- 
dictory, and  how  incoherent!  We  have  but  one 
conclusion  to  draw  from  the  evidences  of  Bud- 
dhism in  Laos,  and  that  is,  that  it  takes  more  than 
ethics  to  make  a  true  religion.  There  must  be  a 
power  in  the  religion  that  so  imbues  the  whole  man 
as  to  verily  make  of  him  a  new  creature. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SHAVED  HEAD  AND  THE  YELLOW  ROBE 

THE  members  of  the  mendicant  order  of  the 
merit-making  monks  are  supported  by  the  volun- 
tary offerings  of  the  people  at  an  immense  cost, 
variously  estimated.  They  are  usually  called  by 
writers  on  Siam  "priests,"  but  the  word  "monk"  is 
more  fitting,  for  priest  is  too  vital  a  word.  They 
are  simply  monks,  having  entered  the  order  to  lay 
up  merit  for  themselves,  and  to  minister  to  others 
only  so  far  as  they  care  to  make  additional  merit 
for  themselves.  The  idea  of  intercessor,  or  leader 
of  the  people,  is  wholly  wanting,  as  much  so  as  that 
of  serving  their  fellow-creatures. 

The  vows  that  bind  to  the  order  are  nominally 
for  life,  but  in  reality  are  only  for  a  limited  time, 
or  until  the  maker  of  the  vow  wishes  to  withdraw 
from  the  order.  This  he  can  do  at  any  time  after 
the  first  three  months.  A  layman  must  be  eight 
years  old  before  he  can  apply  for  admission  to  the 
first  order,  but  usually  he  is  ten  or  twelve;  and  he 
must  be  twenty  years  of  age  before  he  can  be  fully 
ordained  and  enter  the  second  or  full  order. 

The  ceremony  of  receiving  into  the  order  is 
simple,  but  would  be  impressive  if  conducted  with 
a  degree  of  solemnity  due  the  occasion.  The  appli- 
cant comes  to  the  wat  gayly  dressed,  and  accom- 
panied by  a  large  concourse  of  friends  as  well  as  by 

211 


212  THE   LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

his  family.  All  are  chatting  and  laughing  merrily, 
for  this  is  a  happy  occasion.  The  applicant  bears 
upon  one  arm  his  three  yellow  robes  neatly  folded. 
Some  member  of  his  family  has  made  special  merit 
by  making  and  presenting  them  to  him.  In  his 
other  hand  he  bears  a  gift  for  the  monk  in  charge 
of  the  chapter.  The  crowd  enters  the  wihara  in 
a  whirl  of  decorous  gayety,  the  women  seating 
themselves  to  one  side  and  the  men  to  the  other. 
The  applicant,  followed  by  several  of  his  friends, 
may,  or  may  not,  march  around  the  wihara  several 
times,  and  sometimes  there  is  music  to  accompany 
the  marching  and  to  add  to  the  festivity.  The 
-.service  must  be  held  within  the  wihara,  ten  monks, 
at  least,  being  present,  and  the  superior  must  be  of 
ten  years'  standing.  The  monks  are  seated  in  two 
rows  upon  the  floor  in  front  of  the  shrine,  and  the 
superior  is  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  rows.  When 
the  applicant  enters  the  wihara,  he  presents  himself 
before  the  superior,  bowing  low  and  offering  his 
gift  as  a  token  of  respect.  A  proposer,  who  must 
be  a  monk,  then  says,  "I  present  this  man  who 
wishes  to  become  a  monk."  The  applicant  bows 
low  several  times,  saying,  "Have  pity  on  me,  lord, 
take  these  robes,  and  let  me  be  ordained,  that  I  may 
escape  from  sorrow  and  experience  Nirvana." 
The  superior  then  folds  the  robes  around  the  ap- 
plicant's neck  and  he  retires  to  the  back  of  the 
shrine,  is  disrobed  by  a  monk,  and  attired  in  the 
yellow  robe  of  the  Sacred  Order.  These  must  be 
placed  upon  the  body  in  a  certain  way  laid  down 
by  laws  in  their  code.  He  then  again  presents  him- 


SHAVED  HEAD  AND  YELLOW  ROBE  213 

self  to  the  superior  and  repeats  three  times  the 
Buddhist  formula  for  the  occasion,  which  has  the 
idea  of  a  sacred  trinity — Buddha,  Law,  Clergy: — 

I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Buddha. 
I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Law. 
I  go  for  refuge  to  the  Order. 

He  then  repeats  the  Ten  Precepts,  under  which 
he  is  to  be  bound  until  he  leaves  the  order  or  is 
fully  ordained,  at  which  time  he  must  be  bound  by 
some  two  hundred  or  more  vows.  The  Ten  Pre- 
cepts are  as  follows: — 

1.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  destroy  life. 

2.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  steal. 

3.  I  take  the  vow  to  abstain  from  impurity. 

4.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  lie. 

5.  I  take  the  vow  to  abstain  from  intoxicating  drinks, 
which  hinder  progress  and  virtue. 

6.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  eat  at  forbidden  times. 

7.  I  take  the  vow  to   abstain   from   dancing   and   sing- 
ing, music  and  stage  plays. 

8.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  use  garlands,  scents,  unguents, 
or  ornaments. 

9.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  use  a  high  or  broad  bed. 
10.  I  take  the  vow  not  to  receive  gold  or  silver. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  first  five  of  these  pre- 
cepts are  those  obligatory  upon  all  Buddhists.  The 
applicant  has  now  become  a  novice,  i.  e.,  he  has 
taken  the  first  degree  of  monastic  orders.  His 
duties  are  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  his  superior 
monks,  who  have  taken  full  monastic  orders,  such 
as  bringing  their  betel  boxes,  water  jars,  and  food; 
to  attend  them  when  they  leave  the  wat;  to  learn 


214  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SI  AM 

to  read ;  to  beat  the  monastery  drums,  and  to  gra- 
ciously let  the  people  make  merit  upon  him  by  sup- 
plying him  with  the  best  of  the  land. 

A  novice  applying  for  admission  to  full  orders 
at  the  age  of  twenty  must  put  off  the  sacred  robes 
and  again  go  through  a  ceremony  similar  to  the 
first  one.  Only,  this  time,  he  is  subjected  to  an 
examination,  first  in  private  then  publicly  in  the 
wihara.  The  questions  concern  his  age  and  health. 
Also  he  is  asked  if  his  parents  consent;  if  he  is  free 
from  debt — often  men  seek  the  order  to  escape 
debt — if  he  has  ever  been  bewitched;  if  he  has  all 
his  mental  faculties;  and  if  he  be  a  slave  or  fugitive. 
Other  questions  of  a  like  nature  are  asked.  If  the 
examination  is  satisfactory — and  it  is  always  so  un- 
less there  be  debt,  in  which  case  it  is  assumed  by 
some  one  of  the  applicant's  friends  in  the  audience 
— the  superior  asks  three  times  if  there  be  any  ob- 
jection to  this  person  being  ordained.  No  one  ob- 
jecting, the  applicant  is  clad  in  his  robe,  and  the 
superior  declares  that  he  has  been  duly  received 
and  ordained.  The  services  are  concluded  by  the 
new  monk  seating  himself  upon  a  mat,  while  his 
family  and  friends  come  up  on  their  knees,  present 
him  with  gifts  and  do  him  homage. 

His  robe  now  consists  of  seven  parts.  A  narrow 
cloth  called  a  "sweat  cloth"  is  worn  next  the  body. 
Next  a  long,  deep  one  is  draped  about  the  hips  like 
a  tunic.  This  is  girdled  in  by  a  narrow  scarf;  then 
a  sweep  of  cloth  three  yards  square  is  draped  from 
one  shoulder  over  the  body  falling  gracefully  down 
to  the  ankle,  and  enveloping  the  arm  in  a  manner 


SHAVED  HEAD  AND  YELLOW  ROBE      215 

to  allow  freedom  of  motion;  another  large  cloth 
is  folded  in  fan-like  plaits  and  is  laid  over  the  left 
shoulder  hanging  farther  down  in  the  back  than  the 
front;  then,  above  all,  another  girdle  is  placed 
which  holds  the  robes  firmly  though  easily.  Then 
a  cloth  called  a  "bowing  cloth"  is  caught  into  the 
folds  for  use.  This  is  to  protect  the  monks'  faces 
when  they  bow  to  the  earth  before  an  idol.  This 
cloth  is  oftentimes  richly  ornamented  with  figures 
of  sacred  shrines  or  royal  umbrellas  (the  double 
umbrella  being  an  insignia  of  royalty).  If  this 
cloth  is  so  embroidered  one  will  be  sure  to  observe 
it  in  passing  a  monk,  for  he  keeps  it  carefully  folded 
outwards.  A  pair  of  sandals  should  always  be 
worn. 

This  yellow  cloth  is  dyed  from  the  sap  of  the 
jack  tree.  The  seven  cloths  should  be  made  of 
small  pieces  sewed  together  in  imitation  of  the 
patches  and  rags  of  the  first  disciple  of  Buddha.  It 
is  now  but  a  mockery  of  that  humility,  for  the 
cloth  must  be  new  and  fresh  looking,  and  is  fre- 
quently made  of  silk.  The  so-called  "yellow"  em- 
braces a  variety  of  shades  of  colors,  from  a  deep 
orange  or  chocolate  color,  through  shades  of  saf- 
fron and  gold  up  to  the  lightest  hue  of  yellow. 
Thus  a  monk  can  indulge  his  taste  and  have  the 
different  parts  of  his  robe  varying  one  from  another. 

When  a  monk  leaves  the  order,  he  gives  his 
robes  to  a  brother  monk.  If  he  dies,  the  robes  are 
taken  from  his  body  before  death  so  as  not  to  be 
defiled  thereby,  and  are  wrapped  around  the  limbs 
and  trunks  of  wat  trees.  There  they  remain  until 


2l6  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

they  are  decayed,  whipped  to  pieces  by  the  winds, 
or  carried  off  in  bits  by  industrious  nest-builders. 

A  fully-ordained  monk  should  possess  an  um- 
brella and  a  fan,  the  former  to  protect  his  shaven 
head  from  the  merciless  sun,  the  latter,  his  eyes 
from  roving,  as  the  vows  of  celibacy  are  upon  him. 
Moreover,  in  walking  his  eyes  should  be  fixed  upon 
the  ground  a  few  feet  before  him,  and  he  should 
be  lost  in  meditation.  In  fact,  the  umbrella  is  most 
conscientiously  carried,  while  the  fan  is  relegated 
to  a  novitiate  following.  The  eyes  rove  at  will, 
looking  for  pleasure  and  diversion,  and  the  lips 
are  ever  ready  with  a  joke  or  jest  or  pleasantry 
with  all  who  pass. 

Each  chapter  has  a  head  monk,  or  superior,  and 
all  the  zvats  of  a  diocese  look  to  a  wat  luang,  where 
resides  a  monk  with  power  over  the  diocese.  These 
monks  or  abbots  have  each  a  vicar  and  secretary. 
The  abbot's  power  is  granted  by  the  highest  chau 
of  the  district,  who  grants  it  upon  promise  of  the 
monk  to  obey  his  lawful  orders.  The  monk  in  turn 
asks  the  chau  if  he  will  grant  him  certain  petitions 
that  he  might  make,  and  the  chau  acquiescing,  the 
compact  is  sealed.  There  are  above  all  the  monks 
one  or  two  who  are  appointed  by  the  king — the 
supreme  head  of  Buddhism — and  these  have  very 
special  powers  and  honors.  They  report  at  stated 
intervals  to  the  king  of  religious  matters  through- 
out the  kingdom. 

The  laws  and  rules  that  bind  fully-ordained 
monks  are  numerous.  We  will  quote  a  few  to  il- 
lustrate their  nature.  It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance 


SHAVED  HEAD  AND  YELLOW  ROBE      217 

how  their  full  observance,  good  as  some  are,  would 
kill  all  energy  and  virtuous  exertion,  and  how,  in 
seeking  to  become  harmless,  a  man  becomes  useless 
and  loses  elevation  and  development  of  char- 
acter:— 

Boast  not  your  own  sanctity. 

Do  not  break  up  the  ground. 

Destroy  no  tree. 

Kill  no  animal. 

Drink  no  intoxicating  beverage. 

Eat  no  rice  after  midday. 

Regard  not  song,  dance,  or  music. 

Neither  sit  nor  sleep  in  a  place  higher  than  that  occupied 
by  your  superior. 

Keep  neither  gold  nor  silver. 

Speak  of  nothing  but  religious  matters. 

Do  nothing  but  what  is  religious. 

Give  no  flowers  to  women. 

Borrow  nothing  from  secular  persons. 

Eat  not  to  excess. 

Sleep  not  much. 

Sing  no  gay  songs. 

Play  upon  no  instrument;  avoid  sports  and  games. 

Swing  not  your  arms  in  walking. 

Mount  no  tree. 

Bake  no  brick  and  burn  no  wood. 

Wink  not  in  speaking  and  look  not  round  in  contempt. 

Make  no  incisions  which  bring  blood. 

Buy  not,  sell  not. 

When  you  eat,  make  no  noise  like  dogs — chibi,  chibi, 
chiabi,  chiabi. 

Administer  no  poisonous  medicines. 

It  is  an  offense  to  walk  in  the  streets  in  a  non-contem- 
plative mood. 

It  is  an  offense  to  stretch  out  the  feet  when  sitting. 

It  is  an  offense  to  cultivate  the  ground — to  breed  ducks, 


2l8  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

fowls,  cows,  buffaloes,  elephants,  horses,  pigs,  or  dogs  as 
secular  people  do. 

It  is  an  offense  to  preach  in  any  but  the  Pali  tongue. 

To  cook  rice  is  an  offense. 

To  eat  anything  which  has  not  been  offered  with  joined 
hands  is  an  offense. 

To  dream  of  a  woman  and  to  be  awakened  by  the  dream 
is  an  offense. 

To  sit  on  the  same  mat  with  a  woman  is  an  offense. 

It  is  sinful  to  receive  anything  from  the  hand  of  a  woman. 

To  speak  to  a  woman  in  a  secret  place  is  an  offense. 

Seek  not  pleasure  by  looking  upon  a  woman. 

It  is  an  offense  to  mount  an  elephant  or  a  palanquin. 

It  is  an  offense  to  "be  clothed  in  costly  garments. 

To  wear  shoes  which  hide  the  toes  is  an  offense. 

It  is  an  offense  to  covet  another  man's  goods. 

To  speak  injuriously  of  the  earth,  of  the  wind,  of  fire, 
or  water,  or  anything  else  is  an  offense. 

It  is  an  offense  not  to  love  everybody  alike. 

It  is  an  offense  to  eat  anything  having  life,  such  as  seeds 
which  may  germinate. 

It  is  sinful  to  make  an  idol. 

To  employ  charms  in  order  to  become  invulnerable  is 
an  offense. 

To  cough  or  sneeze  in  order  to  win  the  notice  of  a  group 
of  girls  seated  is  an  offense. 

Not  to  put  on  the  garments  at  break  of  day  is  sinful. 

To  look  fiercely  at  other  people  is  an  offense. 

To  clean  the  teeth  with  certain  long  pieces  of  wood  or 
while  speaking  to  others  is  an  offense. 

To  eat  and  to  talk  at  the  same  time  is  an  offense. 

It  is  sinful,  in  thinking  of  religious  matters,  to  dwell 
upon  that  which  is  not  clearly  understood  without  con- 
sulting another  monk  who  might  give  an  explanation. 

It  is  an  offense  to  cause  alarm  to  anyone. 

A  monk  offends  who  in  eating  slobbers  his  mouth  like 
a  little  child. 

A  monk  offends  if  he  eat  without  crossing  his  legs. 


SHAVED  HEAD  AND  YELLOW  ROBE 

A  monk  may  not  wash  himself  in  the  twilight  or  the 
dark,  lest  he  should  unadvisedly  kill  some  insect  or  other 
living  thing. 

There  are  many  more  of  these  vows,  but  so  de- 
generate is  the  order  that  the  monk  who  en- 
deavors to  keep  them  is  hard  to  find.  As  a  rule  the 
thought  seems  to  be  that  the  joining  of  the  order 
is  of  sufficient  merit  without  keeping  the  precepts 
or  vows. 

Let  us  quote  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Colquhoun  in 
regard  to  the  order  as  he  saw  it  in  Chieng  Mai : — 

"They — the  monks — are  seen  at  all  hours,  and  in 
every  direction,  loitering  about  idly,  mixing  with 
the  people,  sitting  in  the  bazaar,  conversing  with 
women,  even  entering  private  houses  at  night,  rid- 
ing elephants,  eating  after  the  sun  has  passed  the 
meridian,  devouring  flesh,  selling  what  is  given  for 
use  in  the  monasteries,  and,  bowing  to  the  chief  and 
his  wife  according  to  native  report.  Many  of  them 
indulge  in  spirits  and  cockfighting,  and  go  about 
with  unshod  feet,  wear  gold  and  jewelry,  'convert' 
bad  stones  supposed  to  be  precious,  into  a  resem- 
blance of  good  ones;  mix  themselves  up,  to  use  a 
Burmese  expression,  in  the  affairs  of  women;  and, 
in  fact,  do  many  things  that  they  are  strictly  en- 
joined by  their  rules  not  to  do.  At  the  close  of 
their  Lent,  which  falls  in  the  rainy  season  and  lasts 
for  some  three  months,  they  receive  grand  offer- 
ings, selling  most  of  the  articles  received  for  the 
highest  prices  obtainable.  Plays,  some  of  them  by 
no  means  moral,  are  constantly  given  by  the  people 
in  Lent.  And  the  monks  themselves,  directly 


22O  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

against  their  vows,  indulge  in  music,  every  mon- 
astery being  well  supplied  with  flutes,  cymbals,  and 
drums.  On  the  whole,  we  were  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  majority  of  these  monks  were  idle, 
good-for-nothing,  illiterate,  and  dissolute  men. 
.  .  .  The  monks  are  supposed  to  supply  the  educa- 
tional wants  of  the  people,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact 
they  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  They  are  merely 
teachers  by  their  example  of  apathy,  laziness,  and 
downright  vice;  and  every  year  finds  them  on  the 
downhill  road.  .  .  .  One  day,  while  paying  a  visit 
to  one  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  place  my  host  served 
us  some  capital  European  refreshments,  and  as  we 
sat  in  the  veranda  indulging  in  them  and  smoking 
our  cheroots,  the  head  monk,  a  sort  of  bishop,  and 
a  most  venerable-looking  old  man,  was  introduced. 
He  had  just  returned  from  a  long  journey,  and  had 
hastened  to  pay  his  compliments  to  my  entertainer. 
Greatly  to  my  surprise,  this  light  of  Buddhism  was 
immediately  offered  a  glassful  of  rare  French 
brandy.  He  drank  it  with  the  greatest  gusto,  and 
then  begged  that  he  might  be  supplied  with  an- 
other/' 

It  is  often  asked,  Why,  then,  do  the  people  put 
up  with  such  laxness  from  the  monks?  It  is  be- 
cause the  church  and  the  people  are  one.  The 
Sacred  Order  is  so  dovetailed  into  the  social  life 
that  it  cannot  be  separated  from  it.  Merit!  merit! 
is  the  idea  of  church  and  of  state,  not  righteousness. 
If  one  should  point  to  a  drunken  priest  sitting  upon 
the  same  mat  with  a  woman,  receiving  sweetmeats 
from  her  hands,  and  jingling  coins  in  his  folded 


SHAVED  HEAD  AND  YELLOW  ROBE  221 

palm,  and  should  ask  for  an  explanation  from  some 
native  near  by,  he  would  shrug  his  shoulders  and 
say:  "Oh,  there  are  bad  monks  and  good  monks, 
I  have  nothing  to  do  with  that.  I  am  to  see  to  it 
that  I  make  merit.  When  I  give  to  a  monk  I  make 
merit  because  I  give  to  him  as  a  monk  and  not  as 
a  man.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  that." 

The  vast  majority  of  monks  remain  in  the  order 
a  year  or  so,  and  then  marry  and  settle  down  to 
secular  life.  Doubtless  one  reason  of  the  superior- 
ity of  Laos  Shans  to  Siamese  Shans  is  found  just 
here,  in  that  the  men  do  not  remain  for  so  long 
a  term  of  service  in  the  order  as  they  do  in  Siam. 
The  life  of  indulgence,  idleness,  and  hypocrisy  be- 
ing thus  of  a  shorter  term,  its  influence  is  neces- 
sarily less  baneful. 

A  monk  is  supposed  to  rise  before  day,  bathe, 
adjust  his  robe  with  precision,  sweep  up  his  cell, 
bring  drinking  water  for  the  day,  filter  it  to  prevent 
the  eating  of  any  creatures  it  might  contain,  and 
then  sweep  around  the  sacred  bo  tree.  As  he 
sweeps  he  must  repeat  parts  of  the  sacred  law,  or 
else  there  is  no  merit  in  the  deed.  This  is  often 
done  by  a  chanting  instead  of  simply  reciting.  The 
merit  consists  in  the  repetition,  not  in  the  heart's 
uplift  nor  mental  activity.  He  should  then  retire 
to  meditate  until  time  for  breakfast,  at  which  time 
the  Siamese  monk  slings  his  begging  bowl  across 
his  shoulder,  covers  it  with  a  corner  of  his  robe 
and  goes  forth  in  boat  or  on  foot  to  collect  his  daily 
portion  of  food.  A  Laos  monk  seldom  makes  this 
begging  tour,  and,  instead,  his  food  is  brought  to 


222  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

the  wat  by  wmY-makers.  After  breakfast  a  bless- 
ing is  pronounced  upon  the  donor,  and  by  so  doing 
merit  is  made  for  himself.  He  then  washes  his 
bowl,  does  any  little  office  for  his  superior,  and 
should  retire  for  meditation  and  study  of  the 
sacred  books. 

At  a  little  before  noon  the  chapter  gathers  for 
another  meal,  which  is  a  generous  one,  as  no  food 
should  be  taken  again  until  next  day.  Probably 
this  law  is  obeyed  more  strictly  than  any  other  of 
the  order,  for  a  monk  may  chew  betel  and  smoke 
and  drink  instead.  The  afternoon  should  be  given 
to  meditation  and  study,  and  in  the  evening  hour 
the  wat  park  should  be  swept,  the  lamps  or  torches 
lighted,  as  well  as  the  waxen  tapers  about  the  altar. 
The  chapter  then  gathers  for  a  vesper  service,  con- 
sisting of  praise  to  Buddha,  with  prayer  that  his 
spirit  may  inhabit  the  idol  above  them  forever,  and 
not  leave  it  empty.  Later  the  drums  are  beaten, 
sometimes  until  the  midnight  hour.  All  fully-or- 
dained monks  should  have  a  rosary.  The  beads 
are  one  hundred  and  eight  in  all,  each  one  repre- 
senting some  sacred  book  or  great  abbot  or  the 
names  and  merits  of  Buddha.  It  is  great  merit 
to  remember  the  whole  list.  The  string  is  made 
like  a  Catholic  rosary,  without  the  cross. 

As  the  novitiates  are  suposed  to  do  all  the  work 
of  the  wat,  which  is,  of  course,  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum, the  fully-ordained  monks  are  supposed  to 
spend  much  more  time  in  meditation  and  study. 
In  some  of  the  wat  luangs  can  be  found  monks  who 
are  fairly  good  Sanscrit  and  Pali  scholars,  and  who 


SHAVED  HEAD  AND  YELLOW  ROBE  223 

are  upright  in  their  lives.  These  scholarly  men  are 
always  glad  to  talk  with  visitors  to  the  wat,  es- 
pecially upon  scholarly  subjects.  They  like  noth- 
ing better  than  a  visit  from  the  missionaries.  Their 
tastes  are  refined  and  scholarly,  and  they  like  to 
learn,  though  they  do  not  wish  to  shake  off  the 
shackles  which  bind  to  the  past.  Many  warm 
friendships  exist  between  these  rare  men,  so  seldom 
found,  and  the  missionaries;  and  great  aid  is  often 
given  by  them  in  translating  work  done  by  the 
mission.  If  these  few  men  were  not  Buddhists, 
they  would  sway  their  fellow-countrymen  and  lead 
them  to  a  higher  and  better  life.  But  their  faith 
teaches  them  that  the  only  way  to  eradicate  the 
evil  in  the  world  is  for  each  individual  to  cast  it 
out  of  himself;  that  a  man  is  only  responsible  for 
his  own  individual  self;  and  if  he  sees  to  it  that  he 
spends  the  time  in  meditation,  he  has  done  all  that 
he  can  do.  There  is  literally  no  stretching  of  the 
hand  to  a  brother.  There  is  no  helping  of  the  man 
who  is  stumbling.  There  is  no  teaching  of  right- 
eousness, no  pointing  of  the  people  upward,  no 
yearning  to  save  others.  The  great  founder  of  the 
religion  who,  as  we  have  seen,  has  come  to  be  wor- 
shiped in  the  development  of  the  system,  said  when 
his  disciples  pressed  upon  him  and  pleaded  that  he 
might  save  them,  "Nay,  though  you  embrace  my 
knees  I  cannot  save  you." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

SPIRIT-WORSHIP  AND  TREATMENT  OF  THE  SICK 

IN  the  fifth  century,  there  came  missionaries  from 
Ceylon  into  the  Laos  provinces  bearing  with  them 
the  sacred  scriptures  of  the  Buddhists.  We  might 
say  that  these  missionaries  were  very  successful,  for 
they  were  not  persecuted  and  stoned,  nor  killed, 
and  they  had  the  reward  of  seeing  the  people  by 
villages  and  towns  embracing  their  teachings.  How 
different  was  the  reception  and  spread  of  this  re- 
ligion from  the  true  religion  which  the  white-faced 
missionaries  brought  fourteen  centuries  afterwards ! 
The  secret  lay  in  the  fact  that  Buddhism  was  not 
exclusive  while  Christianity  was;  Buddhism  allowed 
its  adherents  to  retain  their  old  system  of  spirit- 
worship,  while  Christianity  said,  Ye  cannot  serve 
two  masters.  Buddhism  simply  supplemented  the 
existent  faith,  adding  thereto  a  moral  code  and  a 
clerical  literature,  while  Christianity  insisted,  first, 
Put  off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds.  Buddhism 
built  upon  the  foundation  already  laid,  while  Chris- 
tianity declared,  Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay 
save  that  which  is  laid  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  so 
Buddhism  flourished  and  became  the  nominal  re- 
ligion of  the  land,  save  of  a  few  hill  tribes  here  and 
there.  But  the  old  religion  brought  down  with 
the  Shans  from  the  valley  of  the  Yangtsi  still  lived 
and  ruled  men's  hearts.  Only  one  feature  of  it  had 
224 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  225 

to  be  given  up,  and  that  was  the  taking  of  animal 
life  to  propitiate  the  evil  spirits.  This  custom  was 
so  conflicting  with  the  Buddhist  teaching  as  to  the 
sacredness  of  life,  that  it  was  largely  dropped  by 
the  people. 

Spirit-worship,  as  existing  among  the  Laos,  is 
not  reduced  to  a  system  as  is  Buddhism.  It  has 
no  temples,  but  it  is  enshrined  in  the  heart  of  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  country.  So  subtle 
a  thing  is  it  that  it  is  difficult  to  describe;  impos- 
sible to  comprehend  if  reared  under  the  freedom  of 
Christian  influence ;  and  equally  impossible  of  es- 
caping if  a  Laos  born.  It  acknowledges  no  god, 
but  gods  many,  good  and  bad,  more  numerous  and 
varied  than  were  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks.  But 
little  thought  is  given  to  the  good  spirits,  if  any 
such  exists,  but  the  bad  ones  have  to  be  propitiated 
constantly;  so  constantly  that  it  is  just  to  term  this 
people  devil-worshipers.  All  the  monasteries, 
shrines,  and  sacred  bo  trees  of  the  land  cannot 
soothe  the  heart  of  Laos-land  that  is  trembling 
'neath  this  scourge  of  demon  fear. 

This  spirit-worship  is  a  modified  form  of 
Shamanism,  and  is  almost  identical  with  the  Nat 
worship  of  Western  Shans,  Kachins,  and  other 
mountain  tribes  bordering  on  Burma.  It  is  also 
closely  allied  to  the  spirit-worship  of  the  peasant 
class  or  Finns  of  Russia.  All  unusual  occurrences 
are  accounted  for  as  being  supernatural ;  or  in  other 
words,  they  account  for  all  workings  of  nature  out- 
side of  the  most  ordinary  by  referring  to  some 
spirit.  If  a  house  is  blown  down  in  a  storm,  the 
15 


226  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

owner  never  thinks  that  it  was  poorly  built  or  that 
its  posts  are  beginning  to  decay,  but  he  cries:  "The 
spirits,  the  spirits,  what  have  I  done  to  anger  the 
spirits?  What  must  I  do  to  propitiate  them? 
They  are  now  sitting  up  there  in  that  tamarind 
tree  waiting  to  pounce  upon  me  or  some  one  of  my 
family.  Let  us  hasten  to  appease  them!"  So  of- 
ferings  of  food  and  flowers  are  placed  beneath  the 
tamarind  tree  with  pleadings  that  the  spirits  may 
eat  thereof  and  be  refreshed  and  that  they  may 
breathe  the  perfume  of  the  flowers  and  be  soothed. 
Spirit-doctors  are  sent  for,  who  come  and  with 
chants  and  incantations  coax  the  spirits  to  leave 
this  family  alone,  and  either  fly  away  elsewhere  or 
stay  forever  in  the  tamarind  tree.  Not  being  sure 
as  to  which  the  spirits  may  do,  offerings  of  food 
and  flowers  and  perfumed  water  are  kept  beneath 
the  tree  until  some  other  mishap  diverts  the  mind 
to  a  new  set  of  spirits. 

If  a  man  wishes  to  go  on  a  journey,  he  first 
makes  a  visit  to  some  wise  man  who  has  a  book 
containing  an  astrological  table  and  a  lucky  day  is 
sought  for.  The  day  must  properly  coincide  with 
the  birth  of  the  man,  the  phase  of  the  moon,  and 
position  of  certain  constellations.  The  wise  man 
is  given  a  fee,  and  then  the  traveler  turns  his 
thoughts  to  the  spirits.  Offerings  are  made  to 
them  to  insure  their  good  will  or  at  least  gain  their 
neutrality,  and  the  journey  is  begun.  No  exigency 
of  life  could  induce  a  man  to  begin  a  journey  with- 
out first  going  through  this  preparation.  The 
question  may  arise,  What  in  case  of  war?  But  even 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  227 

then  the  officers  never  move  without  first  consult- 
ing a  wise  man,  and  making  due  offerings  to  the 
spirits.  And  the  reader  may  ask,  What  about  the 
peasant  who  is  summoned  by  his  lord  for  a  jour- 
ney? In  that  case,  the  chau  himself  has  held  the 
consultation  with  the  wise  man  and  has  made  of- 
ferings to  the  spirits.  The  peasant  feels  safe  under 
the  protection  of  his  lord,  but  even  then  he  will 
make  a  small  offering  for  himself  before  the  jour- 
ney begins. 

When  crossing  the  mountains  or  passing 
through  the  rapids  a  halt  is  called  and  food  and 
flowers  are  offered  to  the  residing  spirits  of  the 
place.  Often  bamboo  withes  are  woven  into  fancy 
shapes  and  hung  upon  a  bush  or  tree  to  please  the 
spirits.  Another  device  is  made  by  weaving  six 
flat  withes  of  bamboo  into  a  hexagonal  shape, 
similar  to  such  designs  made  by  kindergarten  chil- 
dren. This  is  called  ta-leo,  and  is  thought  to  en- 
tangle the  spirit  when  it  comes  to  molest.  Thus 
at  the  mountain  passes  one  always  finds  an  accumu-' 
lation  of  these  woven  charms  swinging  in  the  breeze 
and  looking  in  the  gray  of  the  evening  hour  quite 
spectral  enough  to  arouse  dread  in  a  credulous 
people.  When  traveling  with  the  missionaries,  the 
natives  never  make  these  offerings.  They  are 
strictly  forbidden  to  do  so,  for  should  they  allow 
it,  the  natives  would  claim  the  missionaries'  belief 
in  the  charm.  At  first  offerings  were  made  when 
unobserved,  but  gradually  this  died  away,  and  now 
a  native  does  not  care  to  try  to  propitiate  the  spirits 
when  in  the  employ  of  the  missionary.  They  say, 


228  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

"The  Jesus  spirit"  is  stronger  than  their  evil  ones 
and  wards  off  their  attacks.  This  is  a  perversion 
of  the  truth,  but  it  often  leads  to  a  full  knowledge 
thereof. 

Children  are  seen  with  soot  marks  upon  their 
foreheads.  These  are  placed  there  by  spirit-doc- 
tors and  are  to  ward  off  evil.  They  also  wear 
around  their  wrists  charm  strings.  This  belief  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  the  peasantry.  The  chaus 
and  monks  hold  to  it  as  firmly.  The  late  King  of 
Chieng  Mai,  the  Chau  Chiwit,  who  was  the  last 
tributary  king  of  the  province,  had  spirit-doctors 
charm  strings  and  run  seven  tiers  around  his  pal- 
ace to  keep  out  the  evil  spirits  that  were  causing 
his  illness. 

If  a  person  falls  into  the  water  often  no  one  at- 
tempts to  rescue  him,  for  the  mishap  was  caused  by 
some  angry  spirit  and  its  wrath  would  surely  rest 
upon  the  rescuer.  One  of  our  Laos  missionaries. 
a  gifted  young  woman,  was  drowned  because  of  this 
superstition.  In  bathing  she  got  beyond  her  depth, 
and  not  one  of  the  staring  natives  dared  to  go  to 
her  assistance.  At  one  time,  the  dead  body  of  a 
man  floated  past  our  house  and  caused  numerous 
suppositions,  as  to  the  possible  cause  of  his  drown- 
ing, among  the  little  group  watching  the  scene. 
One  man  said  that  he  was  evidently  a  traveler,  and 
his  home  spirit  was  angered  by  his  going  into  an- 
other province;  that  the  injured  and  enraged  spirit 
had  pursued  him  and  cast  him  into  the  stream  as 
he  sat  upon  the  bank  resting.  Another  suggested 
that  he  had  neglected  the  usual  annual  feasting  of 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  229 

the  spirits  after  the  crops  are  harvested,  and  that 
this  mishap  was  a  natural  and  just  sequence.  Still 
another  suggested  that  the  spirit  of  a  former  dead 
wife  was  jealous  of  the  present  wife  and  had  tripped 
him  up  as  he  was  entering  a  boat.  And  so  on,  ran 
the  talk,  all  proving  how  debased  and  imbruted  was 
the  understanding. 

Certain  large  groves  are  set  aside  as  being  the 
very  special  habitation  of  large  hordes  of  spirits. 
Offerings  are  made  to  these  upon  the  outskirts  of 
the  grove,  in  the  hope  that  the  spirits  will  be  con- 
tent to  remain  in  the  grove  and  not  rove  abroad. 
In  touring,  missionaries  sometimes  unwittingly 
pitch  tent  in  such  a  grove,  but  they  soon  have  to 
move,  for  the  villagers  will  not  come  to  them  there. 
Certain  spirits  reside  over  the  trees  that  wild  bees 
inhabit,  and  if  a  hunter  takes  honey  therefrom  he 
must  make  an  offering  to  the  spirits  to  appease 
probable  wrath  for  disturbing  the  honey  and  to 
insure  a  yield  the  next  year. 

In  the  summer  of  1898  the  rains  in  the  Lakawn 
province  were  light  and  varying,  and  a  general  fail- 
ure of  rice  threatened.  The  populace  were 
aroused,  and  much  concern  was  felt,  even  by  the 
wee  children.  Evidently  the  spirits  were  angry. 
Why?  did  not  trouble  the  mind,  but  how  to  pro- 
pitiate them  did.  The  whole  people  set  to  work 
making  sweetmeats  to  carry  to  the  wats  as  offer- 
ings to  the  monks.  Probably  the  god  within  the 
wat  walls,  the  immense  idol,  had  been  neglected, 
and  was  angry.  And  so  the  gifts  poured  in  to  all 
the  surrounding  wats.  Wat  drums  were  beaten  at 


230  THE   LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

intervals,  both  day  and  night.  All  imaginable 
kinds  of  fancy-woven  bamboo  work  were  hung  aloft 
on  trees.  Food  and  flowers  were  kept  at  all  the 
spirit-shrines,  and  special  offerings  were  placed  at 
bends  in  the  road,  upon  hilltops,  and  in  recesses 
of  valleys.  Thus  the  people  spent  of  their  little  sub- 
stance, and  still  no  rain.  So  a  very  special  and 
grand  display  was  planned.  On  the  auspicious  day 
monks  from  the  wat  luang  of  the  district  carried 
with  pomp  and  display  and  imposing  pageantry,  up 
and  down  the  roads  and  streets,  a  small  ivory  idol 
of  Buddha  which  was  supposed  to  possess  extra- 
ordinary virtues.  All  day  long  rolled  the  beating 
of  gongs  as  the  procession  moved  about.  At 
twilight  the  little  image  was  restored  to  his  seat  in 
the  wihara,  and  no  reproach  was  cast  upon  his  fail- 
ure to  bring  the  rain.  Instead  the  people  said, 
"Ah,  we  have  not  yet  made  a  sufficient  effort  to 
turn  the  spirits'  wrath." 

Thus  it  may  be  seen  that  there  is  no  rational  per- 
ception of  natural  phenomena,  and  that  the  reason- 
ing faculties  are  necessarily  kept  in  bondage  and 
subjection  to  the  wildest  flights  of  the  fancy  and 
imagination.  The  secrets  of  nature  are  not  in- 
vestigated, and  no  poor  Roger  Bacon  has  ever 
arisen  among  the  people  to  begin  research  and 
prove  that  natural  phenomena  are  not  sorcery  and 
magic. 

Every  person  is  believed  to  have  thirty-two  good 
spirits  pervading  his  body,  called  kwan.  As  long 
as  these  kwan  all  remain  as  guardian  spirits  within, 
no  sickness  or  mishap  can  befall  the  person.  But 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  231 

alas!  these  kwan  are  freaky,  vacillating  spirits,  and 
may  leave  the  body  without  a  moment's  warning, 
and  at  once  sickness  or  accident  befalls.  Much 
time  and  money  are  spent  trying  to  keep  these 
kwan  in  a  good  humor  so  that  they  will  not  desert 
the  body. 

Originally  all  spirits  had  their  origin  in  human 
beings,  and  for  lack  of  merit  became  spirits.  Thus 
deceased  monks  haunt  wat  grounds  and  are  known 
as  Pi  Sua  Wat;  and  the  deceased  kings  and  officials 
known  as  Pi  Sua  Ban,  roam  over  the  scenes  of  their 
past  glories  and  out  of  spite  work  ill  for  the  living. 
Those  who  die  away  from  their  homes  are  doomed 
to  rove  in  the  jungles  and  forests  as  Pi  Pa,  be  they 
king  or  slave.  These  Pi  Pa  spirits  are  very  malig- 
nant. 

Belief  in  magic  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
this  spirit-worship.  Though  the  Siamese  Shans 
are  spirit-worshipers  in  a  very  modified  form,  their 
superstition  leads  them  to  accredit  the  Laos  with 
this  occult  power  of  magic.  The  Laos,  in  turn, 
cannot  exactly  locate  magicians,  but  certain  it  is 
that  such  exist,  and  they  may  be  found  somewhere 
among  the  mountain  tribes.  These  magicians  are 
believed  to  have  the  usual  powers  ascribed  to 
magicians  among  all  the  nations  who  in  their  in- 
fancy or  childhood  believed  in  the  art.  They  are 
accredited  with  the  power  of  alchemy,  but  only  in 
a  limited  degree. '  Even  the  rudiments  of  chem- 
istry are  wholly  unknown  to  the  people,  so  they 
could  not  attribute  its  secrets  to  their  magicians. 
The  first  principle  of  alchemy  is  accredited  to  them, 


232  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

namely,  that  there  is  a  secret  whereby  the  baser 
metals  are  transmuted  into  gold  and  silver.  The 
magician's  power  is  unlimited  so  far  as  working 
miracles  in  nature,  such  as  transforming  a  spirit 
into  an  insect  which  can  enter  a  person  and  be 
changed  at  once  into  some  wild  beast  which  causes 
death.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these 
magicians  are  only  creatures  of  the  fancy  and  the 
imagination.  They  never  assume  tangible  form, 
and  so  need  not  be  considered  as  serious  an  evil  as 
that  other  form  of  superstitious  belief  which  is  hor- 
ribly tangible  and  specific,  and  of  which  we  will 
speak  presently. 

The  folk-lore  of  this  people  is  pregnant  with  this 
belief  in  magic  and  spirit-worship,  and  so  the  chil- 
dren at  the  knee  learn  to  reverence  and  fear  both, 
and  in  after  years  when  the  saner  reason  of  ma- 
turity would  assert  itself,  this  belief  has  become  a 
habit  too  deeply  ingrained  in  the  mind  to  be  cast 
aside. 

There  are  believed  to  be  certain  magic-wells  and 
springs  scattered  over  the  land,  the  waters  of  which 
are  for  the  healing  of  the  people;  and  other  springs 
which  infinitely  prolong  human  life.  These  springs 
are  undoubtedly  believed  to  exist,  but  no  man  can 
locate  the  exact  spot.  When  upon  the  plain,  they 
are  to  be  found  in  the  mountains,  and  when  there, 
it  is  necessary  to  go  into  the  next  province,  and  so 
on,  until  one  is  wearied  in  endless  search.  Such  a 
spring  was  said  to  exist  within  a  cave  at  Chieng 
Dao.  Near  the  opening  of  the  cave  ran  a  stream 
which  was  said  to  be  impassable.  Beyond  it  rested 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  233 

an  idol  of  pure  gold,  solid,  and  ten  feet  high.  There 
were  also  golden  vestments  and  other  wonders,  and 
beyond  lay  the  entrance  to  the  city  of  the  Yaks,  a 
fabulous  race  of  giants.  To  cross  the  river  one 
must  have  a  great  amount  of  merit  and  no  one  has 
ever  considered  himself  as  sufficiently  possessed 
with  merit  to  undertake  the  journey. 

Several  years  ago  Dr.  McGilvary  entered  the 
cave  with  a  native  Christian  and  discovered  that  the 
stream  could  be  forded  and  that  beyond  stretched 
a  fine  cave,  but  utterly  lacking  in  any  fixtures  that 
would  be  a  foundation  for  the  popular  belief.  But 
this  discovery  did  not  disconcert  the  natives.  They 
said  that  the  party  had  sufficient  merit  to  cross  the 
stream,  but  not  to  behold  the  wonders  within! 

Faith  in  amulets  is  necessarily  embraced  in  this 
superstition.  Divination,  as  has  been  seen,  is  be- 
lieved in  and  much  stress  is  laid  upon  omens.  The 
popular  American  superstitions  in  regard  to  Friday 
being  an  unlucky  day  for  the  beginning  of  a  task 
and  the  breaking  of  a  mirror  signifying  seven  years 
of  misfortune  would  find  themselves  completely  lost 
amid  the  myriad  of  Laos  omens.  All  of  these  arts 
are  merely  in  a  rudimentary  form,  not  one  of  them 
reaching  the  height  of  like  arts  in  the  Middle 
Ages. 

Many  forms  of  disease  are  thought  to  be  caused 
by  evil  spirits.  All  diseases  fall  under  one  of  two 
classes.  The  first  embraces  the  simpler  ailments 
that  flesh  is  heir  to,  and  result  from  a  disturbance 
of  the  equilibrium  in  the  body  of  the  four  elements, 
wind,  fire,  earth,  and  water.  The  second  includes 


234  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

all  the  more  serious  disorders  that  are  not  under- 
stood by  the  people,  and  are  so  thought  to  be 
caused  by  offended  spirits. 

The  first  class  may  be  treated  by  simple  home 
remedies,  such  as  massage,  in  which  art  the  native 
women  are  skilled;  dieting,  or  the  drinking  of  teas 
made  from  herbs  and  roots  of  medicinal  shrubs. 
If  a  person  has  pain  in  the  side  or  abdomen,  a  sec- 
ond person  comes  to  the  rescue  by  kneeding  the 
abdomen  with  the  feet.  This  is  sometimes  done  by 
the  patient  lying  flat  on  the  back  with  flexed  knees 
along  the  side  of  the  veranda-railing.  The  friend 
leans  back  upon  the  railing  and  partly  supports  her 
weight  with  her  arms  upon  the  rail,  while  her  feet 
kneed  the  abdomen.  I  have  seen  this  process  kept 
up  for  half  an  hour,  a  bright  cheery  conversation 
between  the  two  going  on  all  the  time.  An  occa- 
sional "oh"  would  be  the  only  sign  of  discom- 
fort. 

If  the  case  is  more  serious,  a  doctor  must  be 
called.  These  doctors  are  much  venerated  by 
the  people,  though  not  considered  infallible, 
as  the  following  proverb  will  show:  "An  elephant, 
though  he  has  four  legs,  may  slip;  and  a  doctor  is 
not  always  right."  They  are  men  of  owl-wisdom 
looks,  but  are  not  graduated  from  any  school  ^of 
medicine,  and  as  some  one  has  said,  "They  just 
take  to  doctoring  naturally."  There  are  several 
large  volumes  in  the  language — written  upon  palm 
leaves — which  may  be  termed  medical  books.  They 
treat  of  the  mysteries  of  the  four  elements,  wind, 
fire,  earth,  and  water,  and  they  give  a  number  of 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  235 

prescriptions  after  the  order  of  the  following  one, 
which  is  for  snake  bite: — 

A  piece  of  the  jawbone  of  the  wild  hog. 
A  piece  of  the  jawbone  of  a  tame  hog. 
A  piece  of  the  jawbone  of  a  goose. 
A  piece  of  the  jawbone  of  a  peacock. 
The  tail  of  a  fish. 
The  head  of  a  venomous  snake. 

This  is  compounded  and  given  in  water,  often 
amounting  in  bulk  to  from  one  to  two  quarts.  If 
the  patient  dies,  it  only  proves  that  an  insufficient 
quantity  of  the  drug  was  taken. 

This  is  very  serious  truth,  and  is  applicable  to 
all  classes.  For  instance,  the  mission  physician  of 
Lakawn  was  sent  for  to  come  quickly  to  Chan  B — , 
as  he  was  seriously  ill.  When  the  physician  ar- 
rived the  chau  was  stretched  upon  a  mat  and  beside 
him  were  vessels  from  which  he  had  been  draining 
pints  of  liquid.  At  his  head  sat  a  doctor  with  lips 
pursed  blowing  gently  but  steadily  upon  the  very 
top  of  the  chau's  head.  The  chau  explained  that 
"wind"  was  his  trouble,  that  it  had  entered  his  side 
sharply  and  had  since  been  coursing  up  and  down 
his  body;  that  so  long  as  the  doctor  blew  upon 
his  head,  the  wind  ceased  its  rushing  course,  and 
already  much  of  it  had  passed  out  of  his  left  foot. 
This  man  the  week  before  had  been  conversing 
with  several  foreigners  upon  the  great  political 
problems  which  were  then  shaking  England  and 
America,  and  he  showed  a  good  understanding  of 
the  situation.  He  was  a  subscriber  to  the  weekly 
Bangkok  papers  printed  largely  in  Siamese,  and 


236  THE   LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

was  conversant  with  all  the  world  problems  of  the 
day.  Yet,  behold  him  lying  there  with  his  "wind" 
coursing  up  and  down  his  body  and  going  out  of 
his  left  leg! 

These  doctors  have  no  definite  knowledge  of  the 
organs  and  functions  of  the  body.  No  experimental 
investigations  or  patient  observations  have  ever 
been  made  by  them.  One  mission  physician  at- 
tests: "It  is  doubtful  if  he — the  doctor — has, 
either  by  intelligent  experiment  or  by  accident,  ar- 
rived at  one  solitary  verifiable  fact,  either  in  physi- 
ology or  therapeutics."  The  same  general  treat- 
ment is  given  for  various  diseases.  The  medicinal 
draught  is  compounded  of  the  teeth,  blood,  and  gall 
of  the  bear,  tiger,  crocodile,  rhinoceros,  and  ele- 
phant, mixed  with  egg  shells,  herbs,  and  powdered 
roots  of  certain  trees,  until  the  mixture  may  contain 
two  hundred  ingredients.  "Besides  their  specific 
curative  properties,  these  medicines  impart  the 
courage  of  the  tiger,  the  stability,  dignity,  and 
longevity  of  the  elephant,  the  solemnity  and  tran- 
quillity of  the  crocodile,  the  equanimity,  content- 
ment, and  philosophic  indifference  to  external 
things  and  other  virtuous  characteristics  of  the 
rhinoceros."  This  powder  is  steeped  in  water 
and  given  in  quantities  varying  from  a  half  pint  to 
a  half  gallon  at  a  time,  according  to  the  patient. 

When  called  to  a  patient,  the  doctor  remains  in 
the  house  until  the  patient  improves,  at  which  time 
the  doctor  is  given  a  fee  and  dismissed,  or  until  it 
is  decided  to  call  another  doctor,  in  which  case, 
doctor  No.  i  receives  no  pay;  neither  is  he  paid 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  237 

should  the  patient  die.  Thus  the  doctor's  bread 
depends  upon  his  curing  the  patient.  And  so 
tenacious  of  life  is  the  human  body  that  a  large 
number  of  the  sick  recover  under  such  treatment. 
I  went  to  see  a  poor  suffering  woman  at  one  time 
who  had  a  most  acute  attack  of  appendicitis.  She 
was  suffering  all  the  agonies  that  accompany  the 
disease.  I  heard  her  groans  and  cries  at  intervals 
long  before  I  reached  the  gate.  She  lay  in  a  heap 
upon  her  mat  clasping  her  knees  in  a  tight  grip 
of  pain.  Beside  her  sat  a  doctor  with  a  bowl  in 
his  hand  containing  a  fluid  into  which  he  was  blow- 
ing his  breath  by  pursing  the  lips.  When  the 
water  was  sufficiently  charmed,  he  dabbed  it  upon 
her  side  and  abdomen,  chanting  in  weird  monotone 
all  the  while.  Think  of  such  treatment  for  appen- 
dicitis! And,  then,  mark  ye,  the  woman  recov- 
ered. But  you  may  say,  the  case  probably  was  not 
appendicitis.  However,  it  was  so  declared  by  our 
station  physician  who  was  called  in  and  then  dis- 
missed because  he  did  not  work  a  miracle. 

One  other  highly-esteemed  remedy  must  not  be 
overlooked.  It  is  as  simple  as  wonderful,  consist- 
ing merely  in  the  virtue  stored  up  in  a  warm,  newly- 
laid  egg.  If  such  an  egg  is  rubbed  by  a  doctor 
over  the  affected  parts  of  the  body,  it  has  great 
curative  powers.  Care  must  be  exercised  to  hold 
the  egg  "just  so,"  and  the  movement  over  the  body 
must  be  accompanied  by  the  repetition  of  charmed 
verses. 

There  is  no  sharp  line  of  demarcation  between 
the  first  and  second  class  of  diseases  as  many  forms 


238  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

of  diseases  which  fall  under  the  first  head  are 
treated  as  such,  and  yet  thought  to  be  caused  by 
spirits.  For  instance,  rheumatism,  which  is  a  com- 
mon disease  and  caused  by  an  excess  of  earth  in 
the  joints,  is  treated  by  the  regular  doctors  and 
yet  is  also  thought  to  be  caused  by  a  swamp-spirit. 
If  the  attack  is  severe  a  spirit-doctor  is  called  who 
treats  the  case  by  holding  his  immense  bladed 
knife,  compared  with  which  a  carving  knife  is  inno- 
'cent,  over  the  affected  part  and  drawing  it  up  and 
down  the  flesh,  at  the  same  time  commanding  the 
spirit  to  return  to  its  former  abode.  If  a  doctor  is 
not  available  some  venerable  person  can  treat  the 
case,  though  the  results  will  be  more  doubtful.  In 
cases  of  fever,  the  regular  course  is  gone  through 
under  the  direction  of  the  doctor,  still  the  family 
of  the  patient  makes  tiny  craft  and  places  upon 
them  offerings  of  food  and  flowers,  which  are  sent 
off  downstream  hoping  to  decoy  away  the  fever 
spirit.  During  the  Buddhist  Lent,  which  is  a 
sickly  season,  many  families  hang  lanterns  aloft 
over  their  houses  each  night,  thus  lighting  the 
spirits  over  their  dwellings  so  that  they  may  not 
wander  down  into  the  houses  and  molest  the  in- 
mates. Yet  these  diseases  mentioned  and  many 
others  cannot  fall  rightly  under  the  second  class, 
for  the  "spirit"  element  in  them  is  too  vague  and 
theoretical.  This  second  class  is  decidedly  specific. 
The  diseases  falling  within  it  are  thought  to  be 
caused  by  the  spirit  of  some  person  entering  the 
body  and  "bewitching"  it,  causing  illness  and  death 
unless  expelled.  This  can  properly  be  classed  un- 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  239 

der  the  name  witchcraft.  The  diseases  of  this 
class  are  those  which  the  natives  do  not  at  all  un- 
derstand, such  as  delirium,  lunacy,  epileptic  seiz- 
ures, hysteria,  variations  of  surface  temperature, 
and  other  nervous  affections.  The  spirit  of  these 
diseases  is  termed  pi  ka,  and  the  treatment  is  a 
specialty.  The  doctors  are  termed  spirit-doctors 
and  are  much  esteemed  by  the  natives. 

When  a  person  is  supposed  to  be  possessed  by  a 
pi  ka,  the  spirit-doctor  comes  and  with  much  cere- 
mony and  many  mysterious  signs  and  movements, 
and  after  several  draughts  of  arrack,  seats  himself 
upon  a  mat  beside  the  patient,  and  begins  his  ex- 
orcisms. He  uses  either  a  light  cane  for  flogging, 
emphasized  with  pinches  by  the  fingers,  or  else  em- 
ploys a  tiger's  tooth  which  latter  is  the  most  popu- 
lar and  effectual.  The  tooth  is  scratched  over  the 
flesh,  leaving  in  its  wake  little  trails  of  blood,  all 
the  while  the  doctor  chanting  incantations  which 
give  a  very  decided  "tone"  to  the  proceedings.  The 
patient  writhes  and  twists  in  pain,  but  the  suffering 
is  not  considered  as  inflicted  upon  the  patient,  but 
the  pi  ka,  and  any  words  uttered  by  the  subject  are 
considered  as  coming  from  the  spirit.  When  at 
some  point  in  the  running  course  of  the  tooth  the 
patient  cries  out,  the  spirit  is  located,  and  the  tooth 
probed  into  the  flesh,  the  doctor  demanding  in 
loud  tones  that  the  spirit  give  its  name.  Such 
treatment  usually  brings  momentary  consciousness 
to  even  the  delirious.  And  the  patient  for  some 
one  of  several  reasons  utters  the  name  of  a  person 
against  whom  there  is  a  dislike  or  family  grudge, 


24O  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

or  if  neither  exists,  the  name  of  some  unpopular 
person  in  the  neighborhood  is  uttered.  Questions 
are  then  asked  so  as  to  certainly  identify  the  per- 
son, and  then  strings  are  tied  around  the  thumbs 
of  the  patient  binding  them  together  and  the  big 
toes  in  the  same  way,  and  also  a  string  is  tied 
around  the  neck.  This  is  to  keep  the  pi  ka  within 
the  body.  And  so  ends  the  first  stage  of  the  in- 
vestigation. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  Laos  mind  is  so  in- 
grained with  this  belief  that  in  such  a  case  the 
patient  would  give  the  name  of  some  person,  be- 
lieving himself  that  it  was  the  pi  ka  within  speak- 
ing, and  not  his  own  true  self.  And  really  be- 
tween the  Buddhist  teaching  of  no  soul  and  still 
reincarnation;  and  their  faith  in  spirits  and  magic; 
and  the  natural  puzzles  of  the  mind  regarding  the 
hidden  life  within;  it  is  no  wonder  that  a  fevered 
brain  should  be  doubtful  as  to  its  identity. 

The  next  step  is  to  send  for  the  accused  witch, 
or  some  member  of  the  immediate  family,  who 
cuts  the  strings,  thus  liberating  the  pi  ka,  which 
returns  to  the  body  of  the  witch.  In  time  the 
patient  recovers,  if  indeed  he  does  not  die  from 
having  been  torn  internally  by  the  spirit  when  it 
left  the  body,  or  by  its  having  eaten  too  much  of 
the  viscera  of  its  victim.  The  property  of  the 
family  of  the  witch  is  all  destroyed  and  burned, 
and  they  are  driven  and  stoned  away  from  their 
home  and  people,  and  are  forever  branded  as  pi 
kas.  The  poor  unfortunates  either  huddle  to- 
gether in  villages  of  their  own,  or  else  flee  to  some 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  241 

distant  province,  where  they  hope  to  lose  their 
past  identity  and  begin  life  anew.  Such  occur- 
rences are  not  rare,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  fre- 
quent; so  that  each  year  many  hundreds  are  thus 
driven  from  their  homes.  This  is  a  dark  blot  upon 
the  fair  name  of  the  Laos;  but  before  we  cast  our 
stones,  let  us  remember  how  in  England,  as  late 
as  1664  the  just  and  intellectual  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  who  ranked  as  the  foremost  man  of  the 
nation,  condemned  to  death  two  women  for  be- 
witching children,  and  supported  his  actions  and 
belief  by  long  and  learned  arguments  based  upon 
both  theology  and  metaphysics.  Let  us  also  re- 
member the  Salem  witchcraft,  and  then  let  us 
drop  the  stones  and  determine  that  as  we  now  have 
the  Light  "of  Truth,  we  will  not  rest  until  its  beams 
shine  from  bound  to  bound  of  this  Laos-land. 

One  would  think  that  accused  witches  would 
know  that  the  accusations  were  false,  but  they  do 
not  always,  as  the  following  occurrence  will  illus- 
trate: A  mother  and  several  daughters  were 
branded  as  witches.  They  were  all  rather  above 
the  medium  in  stature,  so  that  in  looks  they  dif- 
lered  slightly  from  the  masses.  They  approached 
the  nearest  witch  village,  thinking  to  take  up  their 
abode  there,  and  find  shelter  in  some  house  until 
able  to  go  to  the  forest,  cut  timber,  and  build  for 
themselves.  But  when  the  witches  of  the  village 
saw  them  approaching,  they  threw  up  their  hands 
and  exclaimed,  "Oh,  but  these  are  witches,  truly, 
truly!"  and,  picking  up  sticks,  they  drove  them 
away. 

16 


242  THE  LAOS  OF   NORTH    SIAM 

As  has  been  stated  in  a  preceding  chapter,  these 
pi  kas  sometimes  take  refuge  under  the  mission 
roof.  The  popular  belief  at  such  a  time  is  that 
so  long  as  on  the  mission  compound  the  pi  ka  in 
the  person  is  in  subjection  to  the  "Jesus  spirit," 
and  so  no  harm  can  be  wrought  by  them  to  the 
missionaries.  Usually  they  are  thought  to  leave 
the  body  of  the  witch,  and,  climbing  up  some  tree 
near  the  gate,  await  the  going  forth  of  the  witch, 
to  market  or  elsewhere,  when  they  climb  down 
and  enter  the  body  again. 

Often,  in  cases  of  uncertainty  as  to  what  may 
be  the  trouble  with  a  sick  person,  a  medium  is 
called  in.  These  mediums  are  always  women, 
as  the  spirit-doctors  are  men.  They  sit  in  state 
upon  a  mat,  and  are  given  every  attention  by  the 
waiting,  expectant  family.  If  possible,  a  native 
band  of  musicians  is  obtained,  who  perform  the 
whole  time.  Arrack  is  offered  the  medium  and  is 
partaken  of  freely.  When  it  begins  to  animate 
her,  she  sways  and  chants  improvised  incantations, 
until  she  is  seized  by  a  spirit  of  inspiration  and 
becomes  frantic  in  her  gestures  and  movements, 
at  which  point  the  music  swells  to  a  tumult. 
Questions  are  then  asked  as  to  what  may  be  the 
trouble  with  the  sick,  and  what  course  must  be 
pursued  to  amend  matters.  The  shrewdness  of 
the  medium,  combined  with  her  own  probable 
belief  in  her  powers,  enables  her  to  give  satisfactory 
answers,  and  she  informs  as  to  what  spirits  have 
been  offended  and  how  to  propitiate  them;  or,  if 
the  case  be  mere  sickness,  she  gives  them  a  pre- 


SPIRIT-WORSHIP  243 

scription  instead.  If  the  person  grows  worse,  the 
case  is  evidently  one  beyond  the  medium's  control, 
and  so  the  spirit-doctor  is  sent  for. 

This  belief  in  witchcraft  is  often  used  by  the 
ruling  class  to  forward  selfish  interests  or  to  wreak 
their  vengeance  upon  an  offending  family,  thus 
taking  a  mean  advantage  through  the  aid  of  a 
superstition  that  they  themselves  believe  in. 

The  awful  shadow  cast  over  Laos  life  by  these 
superstitions  is  simply  indescribable.  The  people 
are  religiously  like  frightened  children  in  the  dark. 
They  call  and  cry  to  one  another,  but  are  only  the 
more  frightened  by  the  sounds  and  echoes  of  one 
another's  voices,  and  in  their  gropings  they  start 
and  scream  as  they  touch  one  another,  deeming 
it  a  devil  instead  of  a  friend.  They  stumble,  they 
reel  to  and  fro,  they  fall  and  cry  out  in  a  death 
agony  that  they  would  rather  abide  in  the  present 
known  evil  than  to  be  launched  into  the  future 
unknown. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  ORGANIZATION  AND   EARLY   DAYS    OF  THE 
MISSION 

"And  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins:  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 

WE  have  seen  that  the  Laos,  though  a  simple, 
comparatively  happy  people  in  their  social  lives,  are 
pitifully  helpless  and  sinful  spiritually.  The  same 
condition  of  sin  and  suffering  that  brought  Christ 
down  from  heaven  to  earth  twenty  centuries  ago 
exists  in  Laos  to-day.  They  do  not  need  to  be 
given  a  religion  of  good  morals  and  good  ethics 
alone,  for  they  have  that  already.  What  they  need 
is  a  Saviour  from  sin,  a  Power  to  keep  from  sin. 
They  look  up  to  no  God,  and  they  have  no  vision  of 
his  purity  that  they  might  hate  their  own  heinous- 
ness.  Sin  has  wrapped  its  bands  about  the  people, 
and  they  love  it,  though  they  fear  it.  The  scourge 
of  this  fear  drives  them  to  deeds  of  merit  that  they 
may  escape  a  worse  fate  in  the  dread  unknown. 
To  the  Christian  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Laos  need  Christ. 

There  is  perhaps  no  age  in  the  history  of  the 
world  that  has  been  so  thoroughly  practical  as  is 
this  one.  The  mind  demands  figures  and  facts. 
The  old  saying  that  "an  ounce  of  fact  is  worth  a 
ton  of  theory"  expresses  the  popular  sentiment. 
And  so  I  am  glad  that  this  demand  for  the  tangible, 
244 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MTSSION  245 

for  facts  and  figures,  can  be  met  in  connection  with 
Laos-land  and  its  need  for  Christianity,  and  its 
response  to  its  teachings.  A  few  years  ago  faith 
alone  could  attest  it,  but  now  facts  can  be  added 
thereto.  It  is  my  purpose  in  the  succeeding  chap- 
ters to  give  some  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity 
among  the  Laos,  showing  that  when  this  people 
come  face  to  face  with  God  and  a  personal 
Saviour  and  a  Power  to  keep  from  sin  they  become 
verily  new  creatures,  a  savor  of  life  in  the  com- 
munity and  nation,  and  the  hope  for  all  the  prob- 
lems that  gather  about  the  redemption  of  the  land 
from  its  state  of  lethargy  and  sin. 

The  Laos  Mission  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  mis- 
sion to  the  Siamese,  and  that  mission  is  a  result 
of  the  desire  to  establish  a  mission  among  the 
Chinese.  In  those  early  days,  when  the  doors  of 
China  were  barred  and  sealed  to  the  world,  men 
and  women  of  God  waited  at  Singapore  and  Bang- 
kok and  other  places,  studying  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage with  the  Chinese  residents  of  those  ports, 
and  waiting  for  the  first  opportunity  to  enter  into 
the  Celestial  Empire. 

As  far  back  as  1662,  the  Church  of  Rome  estab- 
lished its  missions  among  the  Siamese.  The  facts 
of  the  case  sadly  prove  that  the  mission  was  not 
worthy  of  the  name  Christian,  for,  instead  of  main- 
taining the  high  standards  which  the  Catholic 
Church  holds  in  Protestant  countries,  she  sank  to 
the  level  of  the  heathen  about  her.  Instead  of 
raising  them  up  to  Christ,  they  dragged  her  down 
to  mammon.  The  mission  flourished  temporarily, 


246  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

but  got  into  numberless  troubles  with  the  govern- 
ment and  officials  by  its  trying  to  interfere  with 
established  laws,  and  its  desire  to  receive  official 
recognition.  But  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  a 
few  of  the  members  of  its  mission  were  earnest, 
humble,  devout  men,  actuated  by  the  true  mission- 
ary spirit.  They  were,  however,  unable  to  sway 
the  majority  of  their  brethren  and  to  instill  their 
principles  into  the  mission  policy.  The  renowned 
Dr.  Carl  Gutzlaff,  upon  visiting  Bangkok  in  1828, 
wrote  that  he  found  that  the  "servility  and  moral 
degradation  of  the  Christians — Siamese  converts 
— had  inspired  the  Siamese  with  such  a  contempt, 
not  only  for  the  religion,  but  for  the  civilization 
and  power  of  all  Europeans,  that  they  only  began 
to  change  their  minds  upon  rinding  that  British 
arms  had  actually  defeated  and  conquered  Burma, 
which  is  on  the  very  border  of  Siam  itself.'5  Thus 
was  born  a  dislike  and  scorn  of  the  white-faced 
foreigner  and  his  religion.  But  a  while  after  the 
establishment  of  Protestant  missions  we  find  the 
following  official  document  written  by  royal 
sanction: — 

"Many  years  ago,  the  American  missionaries 
came  here.  They  came  before  any  Europeans" — 
ignoring  the  Jesuits,  and  referring  to  the  large 
number  of  European  merchants  and  traders  who 
flocked  to  the  port  so  soon  as  it  has  been  opened 
by  the  missionaries — "and  they  taught  the  Siamese 
to  speak  and  read  the  English  language.  The 
American  missionaries  have  always  been  just  and 
upright  men.  They  have  never  meddled  in  the 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  247 

affairs  of  government  or  created  any  difficulty  with 
the  Siamese.  They  have  lived  with  the  Siamese 
just  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  nation.  The  Gov- 
ernment of  Siam  has  great  love  and  respect  for 
them,  and  has  no  fear  whatever  concerning  them. 
When  there  has  been  a  difficulty  of  any  kind,  the 
missionaries  at  many  times  have  rendered  valuable 
assistance.  For  this  reason,  the  Siamese  have 
loved  and  respected  them  for  a  long  time.  The 
Americans  have  also  taught  the  Siamese  many 
things." 

Of  later  date,  1899,  we  have  the  following  testi- 
mony from  the  government  to  the  work  of  Prot- 
estant missions  in  Siam.  We  quote  from  the  Hon. 
Hamilton  King,  U.  S.  Minister  to  Siam: — 

"At  a  recent  banquet  given  by  the  Russian  Min- 
ister in  honor  of  Prince  Damrong  on  his  return 
from  an  extensive  trip  of  inspection  throughout  the 
kingdom,  I  had  the  real  pleasure  of  hearing  the  fol- 
lowing words :  'Mr.  King,  I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
we  have  great  respect  for  your  American  mission- 
aries in  our  country,  and  appreciate  very  highly 
the  work  they  are  doing  for  our  people.  I  want 
this  to  be  understood  by  everyone,  and  if  you  are 
in  a  position  to  let  it  be  known  to  your  country- 
men, I  wish  you  would  say  this  for  me.  I  have 
now  more  especially  in  my  mind  my  visit  to  Chieng 
Mai,  Laos.  The  work  of  your  people  there  is 
excellent.  I  cannot  say  too  much  in  praise  of  the 
medical  missionaries  there,  especially/ ''' 

These  quotations  are  significant.  They  prove 
that  the  old  dislike  of  the  foreigner  and  the  "Chris- 


248  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

tian"  has  been  overcome,  and  that  the  Government 
is  not  now  antagonistic  to  Protestant  missionaries, 
though  they  teach  a  different  religion  and  insist 
that,  Other  foundations  can  no  man  lay  save  that 
which  is  laid  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  also  significant 
in  showing  that  if  God  has  thus  turned  the  hearts 
of  the  rulers  to  favor  his  servants,  the  home  church 
should  push  forward  to  meet  the  new  responsibili- 
ties and  privileges  opened  up  to  them  in  this  field. 
We  do  not  have  to  stand  waiting  for  open  doors 
in  Siam  and  among  the  Laos,  for  they  are  on  every 
side,  inviting  entrance. 

Siam  owes  much  to  Dr.  Gutzlaff,  for  besides  his 
own  arduous  labor  for  the  people  the  few  years 
he  was  there,  he  sent  appeals  to  America  and  to 
Dr.  Judson,  of  Burma,  that  Protestant  missions 
should  be  established  there  at  once.  He  and  his 
associate,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tomlin,  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  could  not  remain  in  Bangkok, 
as  their  society  felt  that  they  could  not  then  estab- 
lish their  work  there.  Both  of  these  men  had 
their  faces  set  toward  China.  "But  the  American 
trading-vessel  commanded  by  Captain  Coffin, 
which  in  1829  brought  to  this  country  the  famous 
'Siamese  Twins'  brought  also  an  earnest  appeal 
for  aid  in  evangelizing  that  then  almost  unknown 
land  of  their  birth."  The  appeal  was  written  by 
Dr.  Gutzlaff,  and  in  response  the  American  Board, 
followed  by  others,  began  work  there.  So  we 
might  say  that  Protestant  mission  work  was  first 
organized  in  the  early  thirties  of  the  last  century. 
Several  Boards  worked  there  for  many  years,  but 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  249 

ultimately,  under  principles  of  mission  comity,  all 
the  Boards  withdrew,  and  left  the  field  in  charge 
of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  the  United  States  of 
America. 

The  Providence  of  God  in  the  attitude  of  the 
government  towards  mission  work  is  marked. 
When  Chau  Fa  Mongkut,  the  father  of  the  rul- 
ing king,  Chulalongkorn,  was  a  mere  youth,  his 
throne  was  usurped  and  he  fled  to  a  monastery 
and  entered  the  Sacred  Order.  While  a  monk  in 
this  monastery,  the  Rev.  Jesse  Caswell,  of  the 
American  Board,  became  especially  interested  in 
him  and  had  his  heart  stirred  to  work  especially 
with  the  young  prince.  He  devoted  a  year  and  a 
half  to  instructing  him  four  times  a  week,  one 
hour  each  lesson,  in  English  and  the  western 
sciences.  The  triune  God  was  constantly  held  up 
to  him,  and  though  he  never  renounced  Buddhism 
to  become  a  professed  follower  of  Christ,  the  in- 
fluence of  Mr.  Caswell's  teaching  was  never  lost. 
For  twenty-seven  years  this  prince  dwelt  quietly 
within  the  wat,  studying  hard  for  an  Eastener  and 
ever  seeking  instruction  from  the  missionaries. 

In  1851  the  days  of  the  Siam  Mission  were 
dark  and  ominous.  Prince  Fa  Mongkut  was  still 
in  the  wat,  and  the  usurper,  who  was  despotic, 
selfish,  and  adverse  to  everything  foreign,  had  so 
insulted  and  mortified  the  English  Ambassador, 
the  celebrated  Sir  James  Brooke,  "Rajah  Brooke," 
who  had  come  to  Bangkok  to  try  to  establish 
treaty  relations,  that  he  weighed  anchor  and  re- 
turned to  England,  breathing  out  threatenings  of 


250  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

gunboats  and  powder.  The  American  Ambassa- 
dor had  also  been  repulsed,  not  having  been  able 
to  gain  even  an  audience.  War  seemed  imminent, 
and  the  missionaries  were  advised  to  retire  tem- 
porarily. They  considered  the  matter  and  decided 
to  remain.  Before  any  official  action  could  be 
taken  by  the  foreign  government  to  force  Siam  to 
open  her  ports  to  the  world,  the  usurper  died  and 
"entered  into  Nirvana." 

The  Prince  Fa  Mongkut  was  placed  upon  the 
throne  and  at  once  began  a  new  era  for  Siam.  His 
intimate  relations  with  the  missionaries  during  his 
many  years  of  seclusion  had  prepared  him  to  rise 
above  the  prejudices  and  traditions  of  his  nation 
in  a  marked  degree.  And  so  when,  in  1855,  Sir 
John  Bowring  appeared  to  negotiate  for  treaty 
rights,  he  was  warmly  received  and  had  every 
mark  of  reverence  and  distinction  laid  upon  him 
by  the  king.  In  less  than  a  month's  time,  the 
papers  were  all  signed  that  were  to  open  Siam  to 
the  world,  and  that  were  to  be  precedents  for  the 
subsequent  treaties  of  other  nations.  Thus  can 
be  understood  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  late 
ex-regent:  "Siam  has  not  been  disciplined  by 
English  and  French  guns  like  China,  but  the 
country  has  been  opened  by  missionaries." 

His  majesty,  besides  encouraging  mission  work, 
especially  the  educational  and  medical  branches, 
employed  an  English  governess  for  his  children. 
One  of  the  group  of  little  ones  taught  by  this  Eng- 
lish lady,  Mrs.  Leonowens,  is  the  present  ruling 
king.  King  Mongkut  requested,  in  a  gracious 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  25! 

note  to  the  mission,  that  the  wives  of  the  mission- 
aries would  undertake  to  teach  the  secluded  ladies 
of  his  palace.  This  they  willingly  and  gladly  did, 
and  three  ladies,  representatives  of  the  three  mis- 
sions in  the  field,  namely,  Mrs.  Bradley,  Mrs.  Mat- 
toon,  and  Mrs.  Jones,  began  the  task  of  teaching  in 
the  palace  harem.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
this  is  the  first  record  of  zenana  teaching  that  we 
have,  for  the  India  zenana  work  was  not  begun 
until  a  few  years  later,  1857.  The  class  was  com- 
posed of  twenty-one  of  the  thirty  wives  of  his 
majesty  and  several  of  his  royal  sisters.  For  vari- 
ous urgent  reasons  the  work  had  to  be  suspended 
after  only  a  few  years  of  encouraging  life. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  Siam  mission  de- 
veloped from  Bangkok's  having  been  used  as  a 
strategic  point  in  the  occupancy  of  China.  But 
many  years  before  the  first  Protestant  missionary 
touched  the  shores  of  this  land,  a  woman  had  made 
an  effort  to  bring  the  Siamese  to  a  knowledge  of 
God,  and  on  this  wise.  To  quote  from  Dr.  House 
of  the  Siam  mission : — 

"It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  very  first  effort 
made  by  any  of  the  Protestant  faith  for  the  spiritual 
good  of  the  people  of  Siam  was  by  a  woman.  This 
was  Ann  Hazeltine  Judson,  of  sainted  memory, 
who  had  become  interested  in  some  Siamese  living 
at  Rangoon  where  she  then  resided.  In  a  letter  to 
a  friend  in  the  United  States,  dated  April  30,  1818, 
she  writes:  'Accompanying  is  a  catechism  in  Siam- 
ese, which  I  have  just  copied  for  you.  I  have  at- 
tended to  the  Siamese  language  for  about  a  year 


252  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

and  a  half,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  my  teacher, 
have  translated  the  Burman  catechism — just  pre- 
pared by  Dr.  Judson — a  tract  containing  an 
abstract  of  Christianity  and  the  Gospel  of  Matthew 
into  that  language.'  The  catechism  was  printed 
by  the  English  Baptist  mission  press  at  Serampore 
in  1819,  being  the  first  Christian  book  ever  printed 
in  Siamese." 

On  June  20,  1858,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Jonathan 
Wilson  and  the  Rev.  Daniel  McGilvary  arrived  in 
Bangkok  as  reinforcements  to  the  mission.  As 
these  young  men  were  to  become  the  pioneers  of 
our  Laos  mission  we  will  glance  at  their  lives 
previous  to  their  coming  to  Siam.  They  had 
been  roommates  at  Princeton  Seminary  and 
while  there  they  dedicated  their  lives  to  foreign 
mission  work.  It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this 
time  that  prince  of  men,  John  Leighton  Wilson, 
was  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board.  It  was 
his  custom  to  visit  annually  the  "schools  of  the 
prophets"  and  lay  before  the  students  the  great 
needs  of  the  heathen  world.  In  the  closing 
months  of  1855,  when  he  visited  Princeton,  he  laid 
especially  the  claims  of  Siam  before  the  students. 
It  was  then  a  new  and  most  needy  ifield.  Three 
members  of  that  senior  class  offered  themselves 
for  that  field,  namely,  Messrs.  McGilvary,  Wilson, 
and  J.  A.  Lefevre.  None  of  the  three  were  physi- 
cally strong  men  and  ultimately  Dr.  Lefevre  had 
to  abandon  all  hope  of  going.  He  spent  his  life 
as  pastor  of  the  Franklin  Square  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Baltimore,  and  is  one  of  the  ablest  theo- 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  253 

logians  and  preachers  of  the  generation  that  is 
passing  away. 

After  graduating,  Dr.  Wilson  spent  some  time 
laboring  successfully  at  Spencer  Academy,  Indian 
Territory,  part  of  the  time  working  among  the 
Choctaw  Indians.  Dr.  McGilvary  came  South  to 
his  native  State  of  North  Carolina  and  took  charge 
of  a  church  in  Orange  Presbytery.  He  was  or- 
dained by  that  presbytery  December  13,  1857,  at 
Pittsboro,  Chatham  County.  But  neither  looked 
upon  their  work  other  than  temporary.  And  so  in 
1858,  when  their  general  health  had  much  im- 
proved, they  were  accepted  by  the  Board  and  ap- 
pointed as  missionaries  to  Siam.  Before  he  sailed 
Dr.  McGilvary  visited  his  friend,  Dr.  Lefevre,  in 
Baltimore,  in  company  with  Dr.  J.  Leighton  Wil- 
son, to  see  if  it  were  possible  for  him  to  go.  But 
"general  debility  and  some  hereditary  pulmonary 
troubles"  would  not  allow  him  to  undertake  such 
a  work,  and  so  the  two  friends  had  to  sail  without 
him  March  9,  1858.  In  the  annual  report  of  the 
board  of  that  year  we  find  these  words:  "In  the 
case  of  both  these  brethren,  it  was  some  degree  of 
uncertainty  as  to  health  that  led  to  the  delay  in 
their  being  sent  out.  This  doubt,  it  is  believed, 
has  been  removed;  and  the  committee  trust  that 
their  lives  and  health  will  be  spared  for  many  years 
of  missionary  work  in  Siam."  How  abundantly 
and  wonderfully  has  God  fulfilled  this  hope!  That 
was  forty-four  years  ago,  and  both  these  men  are 
still  living  upon  the  field,  not  as  retired  veterans, 
but  as  active  missionaries.  It  was  the  following 


254  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

May  that  the  outgoing  of  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Mc- 
Gilvary  was  reported  to  the  General  Assembly, 
which  met  that  year  in  New  Orleans,  in  Dr.  B.  M. 
Palmer's  church. 

In  April,  1860,  Mrs.  Wilson  succumbed  to  an  at- 
tack of  cholera,  which  was  then  prevalent  in  Bang- 
kok. She  lingered  until  July,  when,  after  all  her 
labors  and  her  suffering,  in  peace  she  fell  on  sleep, 
with  words  of  rapture  and  joy  upon  her  lips. 

The  following  November  Dr.  McGilvary  was 
married  to  Miss  Sophia  R.  Bradley,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  D.  B.  Bradley,  M.  D.,  of  the 
American  Missionary  Association.  She  was  a 
young  woman  of  rare  abilities,  possessing  a  com- 
bination of  gifts  and  attainments  which  most  ad- 
mirably fitted  her  to  become  the  wife  of  the  future 
pioneer  missionary  to  the  Laos.  In  1861,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  McGilvary,  with  the  Rev.  S.  G.  McFarland, 
D.  D.,  were  transferred  from  Bangkok  to  Petcha- 
buree — the  city  of  diamonds — to  establish  a  work 
there  and  lay  the  foundations  of  the  station.  Dr. 
Wilson  remained  in  Bangkok  and  was  especially 
successful  in  his  colporteur  work,  which  he  faith- 
fully carried  on  within  the  city  and  in  the 
suburbs. 

Near  Petchaburee  was  a  large  colony  of  Laos, 
numbering  ten  thousand  or  more.  They  had  fled 
from  their  far-away  home  to  the  northeast,  many 
years  before,  when  their  leader  had  been  defeated 
in  battle.  They  had  been  made  serfs  of  the  king, 
and  he  had  assigned  them  homes  and  lands  in  the 
fertile  province  about  Petchaburee.  Dr.  McGil- 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  255 

vary  became  interested  in  this  people,  and  the  an- 
nual coming  of  boats  from  the  "north  land"  to 
Bangkok  to  trade  increased  this  interest,  and  he 
purposed  in  his  heart  to  penetrate  into  their  far- 
away country  and  see  if  a  mission  could  not  be 
established  there.  The  Siam  mission  granted  his 
earnest  plea,  and  in  the  cool  season  of  1863  he  and 
his  friend,  Dr.  Wilson,  pushed  up  into  the  unknown 
stretch  of  country  to  the  north  of  them  and  in  the 
name  of  Jehovah  entered  the  mountain  doors  of 
the  land.  At  that  time  the  Laos  provinces  were 
simply  tributary  to  Siam,  and  so  these  two  men 
sought  the  presence  of  the  king  of  the  provinces 
who  resided  in  the  capital  city  of  Chieng  Mai.  The 
king  and  his  wife  were  glad  to  see  the  foreigners, 
and  thinking  that  some  material  gain  would  accrue 
from  their  coming,  they  warmly  welcomed  them 
and  invited  them  to  come  and  establish  a  mission 
there.  After  further  investigations,  and  with  a 
promise  from  the  king  of  a  lot  for  a  residence,  they 
turned  their  faces  southward  with  hearts  aglow  with 
hope.  The  Siam  mission  laid  the  matter  before 
the  home  Board  and  it  was  decided  to  establish  a 
mission  there  as  soon  as  possible. 

In  1864,  the  health  of  Dr.  Wilson  was  so  much 
impaired  that  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  have 
a  rest  and  change,  and  so  he  sailed  for  America. 
When  he  returned  he  was  accompanied  by  his  fair 
bride  who  was  destined  to  be  his  helper  for  many 
years  of  fruitful  labor. 

The  year  1867  is  memorable  as  marking  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  mission  to  the  Laos.  On  the 


256  THE    LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

3d  of  January,  1867,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  McGilvary  and 
their  children  embarked  in  one  of  the  little  Laos 
boats  described  in  a  previous  chapter.  They  left 
with  the  prayers  and  the  blessings  of  their  co- 
laborers  resting  upon  them,  and  how  sorely  they 
should  need  just  those  prayers  and  those  blessings 
they  well  knew,  but  their  hearts  failed  not.  The 
water  was  fast  falling,  for  the  dry  season  was  well 
under  way.  It  was  also  the  beginning  of  the  in- 
tensely hot  season,  but  those  things  they  counted 
not.  If  they  did  not  go  right  then,  the  trip  would 
have  to  be  postponed  almost  a  year — and  a  year! 
What  might  that  mean  for  the  Laos?  By  agree- 
ment, Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  were  to  join  them  the 
following  year. 

It  is  well  to  note  here  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  had  previously  made  an  effort  to  establish 
a  mission  in  the  country,  and  with  this  end  in  view 
had  sent  their  M.  Graudjean,  a  priest,  into  the  prov- 
inces to  investigate.  After  a  few  months  he  re- 
turned and  reported  that  the  people  would  not  re- 
ceive his  message,  but  laughed  at  him,  and,  so  to 
use  his  own  expression,  "I  shook  the  dust  from  off 
my  feet  and  returned." 

The  months  of  January,  February,  and  March 
were  spent  in  the  little  boat  upon  the  river,  and  not 
until  April  I  did  they  sight  the  city  that  was  to 
be  the  home  of  their  adoption.  Of  this  trip  Dr. 
McGilvary  modestly  wrote  to  the  Board:  "We 
would  record  with  devout  gratitude  to  God  his 
watchful  care  over  us  during  our  long  and  tedious 
and  somewhat  dangerous  voyage."  Upon  reach- 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  257 

ing  the  city  he  found  that  the  king  was  away  fight- 
ing the  Red  Karens,  and  no  lot  could  be  obtained 
for  residence.  So  he  moved  his  family  to  one  of 
the  salas  of  the  city,  and  in  his  choice  of  one  among 
so  many  he  was  surely  led  of  God,  as  after  events 
proved. 

The  king  did  not  return  until  well  into  the  rainy 
season,  so  arrangements  to  remain  in  the  sala  had 
to  be  made.  Dr.  McGilvary  bought  bamboo  and 
matting  and  built  a  small  room  to  one  side  of  the 
sala.  This  afforded  comparative  protection  from 
the  rains.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  sala  is 
simply  an  open  pavilion  built  by  mmY-makers  for 
the  abode  of  travelers.  This  sala  was  low,  being 
only  a  few  feet  from  the  ground,  whereas  six  or 
seven  feet  is  the  usual  height.  The  location  was 
also  low.  And  so  the  mud  beneath  and  in  the  yard 
about  was  often  a  foot  deep  for  weeks  at  a  time. 
To  offset  this,  the  building  was  upon  the  principal 
highway  of  the  city  leading  across  the  river  bridge. 
The  advantage  of  this  location  will  be  seen  pres- 
ently. The  season  was  intensely  hot  and  very 
sickly,  and  Dr.  McGilvary  distributed  more  quinine 
the  first  two  months  than  had  been  used  at  Petcha- 
buree  in  six  years.  The  first  medicine  given  to  a 
native  by  Dr.  McGilvary  was  some  quinine  for 
fever.  He  had  to  pay  the  man  to  induce  him  to 
take  the  drug.  After  several  such  cases  the  fear 
of  the  ya  kau,  "medicine  white,"  wore  off,  and  the 
people  flocked  to  be  supplied  with  it,  so  much  so 
that  in  a  little  while  the  supply  that  was  expected 
to  last  a  year  was  exhausted.  A  few  bottles  were, 
17 


258  THE   LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

of  course,  reserved  for  emergencies  and  use  in  his 
own  family. 

Dr.  McGilvary  had  received  no  medical  educa- 
tion; but  all  missionaries  should,  and  all  pioneer 
missionaries  must,  know  something  about  medi- 
cine. As  our  story  will  prove,  this  missionary  was 
of  the  highest  order,  being  sprung  from  a  sturdy 
Scottish  stock,  renowned  for  intellect  and  for  the 
zeal  and  brightness  of  its  faith.  He  had  by  appli- 
cation acquired  considerable  knowledge  of  medical 
science,  and  all  through  his  life  of  active  evan- 
gelistic work,  he  has  traveled  with  his  Bible  in 
one  hand  and  his  medicine  case  in  the  other. 
"Preach  the  gospel— heal  the  sick." 

On  the  day  after  the  king's  return  from  his  war- 
fare Dr.  McGilvary  called  to  pay  his  respects.  The 
king  was  not  in  the  best  of  humor,  for  he  had 
suffered  great  loss  of  life,  and  on  the  whole  the 
expedition  had  proved  a  failure.  Nevertheless,  he 
gave  Dr.  McGilvary  a  kindly  welcome,  and  again 
promised  him  a  lot.  Soon  after  this,  the  king  did 
make  over  a  lot  to  the  mission  in  good  faith.  The 
lot  was  within  the  city  and  was  well  located  upon 
the  principal  highway,  running  from  the  bridge 
through  the  principal  gate  of  the  city.  No  thought 
was  then  given  to  building,  for  the  rains  were 
steady,  and  it  was  impossible  to  either  gather  ma- 
terial or  to  build.  And  so  the  months  slipped  by, 
the  days  being  rilled  with  ceaseless  toil.  The  open 
public  sala  made  the  missionaries  accessible  to  the 
people  and  assured  Dr.  McGilvary  of  an  audience 
from  morning  till  night  and  often  well  into  the 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  259 

evening  hours.  These  people  came  from  far  and 
near,  many  being  travelers  from  distant  prov- 
inces. 

All  this  time  both  Dr.  and  Mrs.  McGilvary  had 
to  give  themselves  to  the  study  of  the  language, 
and  here  the  wife  had  the  advantage.  Siamese 
was  the  childhood  tongue  of  Mrs.  McGilvary,  for 
her  parents  were  among  the  pioneer  missionaries 
to  Bangkok.  This  Siamese  enabled  them  to  con- 
verse with  the  people,  but  they  wished  to  come  into 
closer  touch  and  speak  their  own  vernacular,  and 
so  they  applied  themselves  to  language-study.  Part 
of  the  time  they  had  a  man  employed  to  assist 
them,  and  to  copy  tracts,  but  in  the  main,  they 
were  thrown  upon  their  own  resources.  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary speaks  thus  of  those  days :  "While  the  field 
is  open  the  work  is  great  and  arduous.  We  have 
come  beyond  all  the  influence  and  ordinary  means 
of  civilization,  except  the  great  one  that  it  is  our 
privilege  to  bring  with  us,  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
We  have  ho  press,  no  schools,  no  commerce,  no 
European  society."  They  were  even  far  removed 
from  the  touch  of  their  brethren  in  Bangkok. 

After  the  first  year,  this  pioneer  family  was 
cheered  and  strengthened  by  the  coming  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Wilson.  Soon  after  their  arrival  they 
moved  into  the  little  bamboo  house,  which  had 
been  built  upon  the  mission  lot,  and  it  was  decided 
that  Dr.  McGilvary  should  remain  in  the  sala  until 
he  could  obtain  a  new  lot  and  build. 

About  this  time  thousands  of  strangers  were 
brought  to  Chieng  Mai  under  corvee  laws  to  help 


260  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

rebuild  the  river  bridge.  These  men  were  kept  for 
a  few  days  only,  when  new  relays  took  their  places. 
Because  of  the  situation  of  the  sala  Dr.  McGilvary 
was  surrounded  by  the  camp  of  these  workmen. 
Every  evening  for  several  months  he  held  services 
in  the  sala,  and  oftentimes  inquirers  remained  until 
past  midnight,  asking  questions  and  listening  unto 
the  great  truths  of  the  new  religion,  until  sheer 
exhaustion  drove  the  laborers  to  seek  rest.  Dr. 
McGilvary  felt  keenly  the  lack  of  literature  to  give 
inquirers.  They  had  Siamese  books,  but  the  Laos 
written  character  is  wholly  different  from  that  of 
the  Siamese,  and  only  a  man  here  and  there  could 
be  found  to  read  it.  It  was  pitiful  to  see  an  earnest 
inquirer  start  off  for  his  distant  home  with  only 
the  first  glimmer  of  truth  in  his  heart.  Many  said 
they  would  pray  no  more  to  their  idols,  but  to  the 
great  God,  and  that  they  would  keep  the  Sabbath 
day.  There  was  at  that  time  no  report  to  make  to 
the  home  church  of  conversions  and  baptisms,  but 
to  this  day  the  seed-sowing  done  in  those  months 
is  bringing  forth  fruit. 

It  was  two  years  from  the  date  of  leaving  Bang- 
kok by  Dr.  McGilvary,  until  he  and  Dr.  Wilson 
baptized  their  first  convert  on  January  3,  1869.  It 
was  a  little  after  that  time  that  Dr.  McGilvary 
moved  into  a  bamboo  mission  house  upon  a  lot 
furnished  by  the  king.  At  this  same  time  we  find 
a  letter  written  by  Dr.  McGilvary,  from  which  we 
quote  in  part: — 

'The  only  estimate  that  some  people  can  make 
of  the  influence  of  missionary  work  is  in  the  sum- 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  MISSION  261 

ming  up  the  figures  of  conversions  and  baptisms. 
This  is  necessarily  small  at  first.  ...  A  double 
process  is  to  be  carried  on.  A  double  work  to  be 
accomplished  just  as  if  we  were  to  be  required  to 
rear  an  edifice  on  the  grounds  occupied  by  some 
ancient  stronghold.  .  .  .  Hath  a  nation  changed  its 
gods?  Yet,  difficult  as  this  is,  it  is  the  first  thing 
to  be  done;  it  is  what  we  demand  of  the  heathen  as 
an  indispensable  prerequisite  toward  embracing 
the  gospel.  Many,  many  of  them  would  love  to 
combine  the  two — to  lift  up  the  hand  and  offer  a 
flower  to  the  name  of  Jesus  and  Buddha — as  many 
in  Christian  lands  would  combine  the  service  of 
God  and  mammon.  ...  In  the  necessity  of  uproot- 
ing the  deep  foundations  of  old  systems  more  con- 
sonant to  our  fallen,  depraved  nature,  we  have  all 
the  influence  of  custom  to  overcome  when  custom 
in  everything  is  law."  Among  the  encouragements 
to  the  work  he  enumerated  the  following: — 

"i.  Buddhism  is  not  held  so  strictly  as  in  Siam. 
It  is  not  strange  to  see  a  monk  eating  rice  in  the, 
afternoon,  or  handling  money,  or  sitting  or  talking 
with  a  woman,  and  many  other  similar  violations  of 
the  commands  of  their  idol  god,  which  if  done 
openly  in  Bangkok,  would  forfeit  his  position  in 
the  order. 

"2.  The  door  is  open.  The  people  are  accessible. 
The  king  is  friendly,  as  are  also  the  princes  and  of- 
ficers of  the  government. 

"3.  The  people  seem  more  disposed  to  look  up  to 
foreigners  than  most  other  eastern  nations.  They 
warmly  receive  the  missionaries  at  their  houses, 


262  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

while  their  own  homes  are  frequented  with  visitors 
of  all  ranks. 

"4.  As  a  race  they  have  more  of  the  elements  of 
a  manly  character  than  most  Asiatics/' 

All  the  letters  of  Dr.  McGilvary  written  during 
the  first  two  years  at  the  sala  to  the  home  church 
and  to  the  Board,  were  burdened  with  one  plea, 
"Brethren,  pray  for  us."  As  for  himself  he  lived  in 
a  constant  atmosphere  of  prayer.  Many  of  the 
scenes  in  the  sala  were  like  to  those  of  Jacob  at 
Penuel.  He  did  not  plead  for  one  or  two,  but  for 
the  "whole  Laos  race."  His  love  was  great,  his 
faith  was  greater,  and  when  the  first  convert,  Nan 
Inta,  was  baptized,  he  pleaded  that  "the  little  one 
might  become  a  thousand."  To-day  he  looks  upon 
a  Laos  church  two  thousand  five  hundred  strong 
and  he  looks  with  his  faith  still  claiming  the  whole 
Laos  race. 

Foundations  mean  much,  and  who  will  gainsay 
that  those  of  the  Laos  mission  were  well  laid? 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION 

NAN  INTA  was  baptized  on  January  3,  1869,  and 
in  seven  months  six  more  had  received  the  ordi- 
nance, and  the  little  native  church  numbered  seven 
souls.  They  were  all  men  and  four  of  the  seven 
had  first  come  to  the  missionaries  for  medicines. 
Nan  Inta  was  a  man  of  middle  life,  having  passed 
two  score  and  nine  years.  He  was  a  man  of  rare 
abilities,  possessing  those  qualities  which  forced 
him  to  be  a  leader  of  men.  As  his  title,  Nan,  im- 
plies, he  had  taken  full  monastic  orders.  He  first 
came  to  Dr.  McGilvary  for  medicines,  and,  of 
course,  heard  the  gospel  message  from  him.  He 
was  favorably  impressed  with  it,  and  promised  that 
he  would  come  again,  which  promise  he  kept.  In 
time  he  was  employed  by  Dr.  McGilvary  and  Dr. 
Wilson,  because  of  his  superior  knowledge  and 
abilities,  to  assist  them  with  the  language  and  in 
the  copying  of  catechisms  and  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture. Though  so  closely  identified  with  the  mis- 
sionaries, he  remained  a  staunch  supporter  of  his 
religion.  It  was  not  until  the  great  solar  eclipse 
of  August  16,  1868,  that  he  was  aroused.  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary had  predicted  its  occurrence  to  him  and 
had  explained  the  phenomenon  scientifically.  Nan 
Inta  only  shook  his  head  and  said  that  it  was  im- 
possible; that  the  Paw  Kru,  "father  teacher,"  had 

263 


264  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

been  deceived  in  the  matter.  But  Dr.  McGilvary 
saw  to  it  that  he  understood  the  day  and  the  hour 
of  the  occurrence,  and  then  he  gave  himself  to 
prayer.  At  the  appointed  time  the  eclipse  oc- 
curred, which  was  a  total  one  in  lower  Siam,  and 
almost  so  in  the  Laos  country.  Nan  Inta  was 
amazed.  Could  his  sacred  books  have  deceived 
him?  If  they  had  made  such  mistakes  in  things 
temporal,  probably  they  did  likewise  in  spiritual 
things.  And  so  he  became  an  aroused  and  earnest 
inquirer.  He  searched  the  Scriptures  in  Siamese 
daily  and  soon  he  was  persuaded  to  do  so  by  prayer. 
He  had  stopped  his  worship  of  idols,  but  he  had 
nothing  in  its  place. 

In  November,  Dr.  McGilvary  made  a  tour  to 
Lampun,  a  large  city  eighteen  miles  to  the  south- 
east, and  he  carried  Nan  Inta  with  him.  While 
there,  the  light  from  above  shone  into  his  soul, 
and  he  was  given  a  revelation  of  truth.  But  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  making  an  open  confession 
seemed  to  him  unsurmountable.  He  would  be  cut 
off  from  his  own  people  and  kindred,  and  would  be 
branded  as  an  outcast.  An  outcast  amidst  friends 
and  loved  ones!  Ah!  but  it  is  a  test  for  manhood, 
for  Christianity,  to  see  a  man  cut  loose  from  every 
tie  that  binds  him  to  the  past  and  present,  from 
family  and  organized  society,  and  to  step  out  upon 
an  unknown  future  for  conscience  sake.  It  is  a 
test.  And  so  for  this  first  believer  in  Christ  among 
the  Laos,  the  trial  was  a  bitter,  heart-searching  one. 
Satan  tempted  him.  Could  he  not  be  a  secret  be- 
liever? Thereby  he  could  maintain  his  influence 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND   PERSECUTION  265 

over  his  family,  and  before  they  were  aware  lead 
them  to  a  knowledge  of  God.  And  so  the  struggle, 
the  birth-throes  of  Light  into  the  midst  of  a  people 
in  darkness,  continued  until  the  Holy  Spirit  re- 
vealed to  him  like  a  flash  of  light  that  duty  was  his, 
consequences  God's.  And  so  he  yielded  wholly, 
and  was  filled  with  an  assurance  of  God's  love  and 
peace  which  never  forsook  him  through  all  the 
stormy,  trying  years  which  were  to  follow.  So  on 
that  memorable  Sabbath,  the  3d  day  of  January, 
1869,  he  stood  up  and  made  a  public  profession  of 
his  faith  in  the  triune  God,  and  then  in  solemn  joy 
sat  down  with  the  band  of  missionaries  to  the  table 
of  the  Lord.  This  same  week  the  church  in 
America  was  holding  a  special  season  of  prayer, 
and  in  answer  to  pleas  from  Dr.  McGilvary  and 
Dr.  Wilson,  were  especially  remembering  this  new 
mission.  Of  this  Dr.  McGilvary  afterwards  wrote: 
"The  rain  falls  in  showers  around  us,  and  we  know 
that  evaporation  has  been  going  on.  A  new  in- 
terest is  awakened  in  heathen  lands  and  we  know 
the  church  is  praying." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  here  that  this  same  eclipse 
that  caused  Nan  Inta  first  to  arouse  to  thought  was 
the  cause  of  a  great  change  in  Siam  though  in  a 
very  different  way.  His  Majesty  Fa  Mongkut, 
who  was  a  great  lover  of  astronomy  and  the  sci- 
ences, graciously  "invited  the  French  astronomical 
expedition  to  be  his  guests  on  the  occasion  of  the 
eclipse  as  in  his  domain  lay  the  path  of  complete 
obscuration.  The  governor  of  Singapore  also,  and 
the  foreigners  in  Bangkok  generally,  including  the 


266  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

missionaries,  were  to  be  his  guests.  He  went  him- 
self with  his  entire  court  with  quite  a  fleet  of 
steamers  down  the  west  coast  of  the  gulf  some  two 
hundred  miles,  to  Hua  Wan,  the  point  selected 
where  the  jungle  had  been  cleared  and  a  bamboo 
palace  with  other  buildings  had  been  put  up,  ex- 
pending upon  his  right  royal  hospitalities  in  the 
whole  affair  about  $96,000.  A  malarial  fever  taken 
there  brought  on  not  long  after  his  return  to  his 
capital  the  death  of  this  martyr  to  science,  the  most 
enlightened  of  all  the  sovereigns  of  Asia.  He  died 
with  Buddha's  last  words  as  the  last  upon  his  lips: 
'All  that  exists  is  unreliable.'  He  used  to  say  to 
the  missionaries:  'The  sciences  I  receive, astronomy, 
geology,  chemistry,  these  I  receive;  the  Christian 
religion  I  do  not  receive;  many  of  your  country- 
men do  not  receive  it.'  ...  In  the  death  of  the 
king,  the  missionaries  lost,  some  of  them,  a  kind, 
personal  friend,  and  'well-wisher,'  as  he  used  to 
sign  himself,  and  all  a  friendly  disposed  liberal- 
minded  sovereign  who  put  no  obstacle  in  the  way, 
of  their  evangelizing  his  people.*  His  successor, 
Prince  Chulalongkorn,  was  a  youth  of  fifteen  years 
when  he  ascended  the  golden  stairs  to  the  throne. 
During  his  minority  the  affairs  of  state  were  ad- 
ministered by  his  grace  the  regent,  a  wise  man  of 
great  executive  ability." 

Very  different  from  the  experience  of  Nan  Inta 
was  that  of  another  of  the  first  seven  converts,  Noi 
Su  Ya,  a  doctor  by  profession.  From  the  first 


*  From  Siam  and  Laos. 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION  267 

hearing  of  the  gospel  he  never  worshiped  an  idol, 
and  in  less  than  two  months  was  baptized.  Nan 
Ghai  was  the  name  of  another  one  of  the  converts. 
These  two  disciples  were  destined  to  a  speedy 
martyr's  death.  Both  lived  in  a  village  some  dis- 
tance removed  from  Chieng  Mai.  Another  was 
Bun  Ma,  a  servant  to  the  official,  a  nephew  of  the 
king,  who  instigated  the  trouble  at  the  Chieng  Mai 
court,  which  caused  the  martyrdom.  A  blind  man 
was  another  one  of  this  group  of  seven,  and  still 
another  was  a  man  old  and  feeble  in  body,  who, 
during  the  persecution,  yielded  to  the  entreaty  and 
pressure  of  his  family  and  clan,  and  outwardly  took 
part  in  the  temple  service.  The  seventh  convert 
lived  to  the  far  north  at  Chieng  Rai  and  was  a  man 
of  sterling  worth. 

There  had  been  much  sickness  among  the  mis- 
sionaries during  this  memorable  year  and  death  had 
entered  the  home  of  Dr.  Wilson  and  claimed  one 
of  his  little  ones.  The  circumstances  of  the  death 
of  this  child  and  of  its  burial  and  reburial  are  too 
sacred  and  personal  to  be  spoken  of,  but  it  is  right 
that  the  church  should  know  that  there  are  depths 
of  anguish  and  sorrow  and  suspense  experienced 
by  those  who  represent  her  in  heathen  lands  that 
are  incomprehensible,  save  by  those  who  have  like- 
wise drank  of  the  cup.  But  for  this  personal  afflic- 
tion the  year  had  been  one  of  almost  uninterrupted 
and  unexampled  prosperity,  and  the  little  church 
of  seven  natives  with  the  band  of  missionaries 
looked  out  upon  a  future  bright  with  hope. 

When  the  king  realized  that  the  newcomers  into 


268  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

his  kingdom  were  simply  teachers  of  a  new  re- 
ligion, and  that  instead  of  material  gain  resulting 
from  their  coming,  that  they  were  drawing  away 
men  from  Buddhism  which  was  his  support,  he  was 
disappointed.  At  court  a  designing  official  stirred 
up  this  feeling  into  wrath.  So  while  outwardly 
professing  friendship  for  the  missionaries  he  began 
to  scheme  to  rid  the  country  of  them.  On  the  last 
of  March,  after  Nan  Inta's  baptism  in  January,  the 
following  letter  was  received  at  the  United  States 
Consulate  at  Bangkok: — 

"Chau  Paya  Puperat  Tai,  Minister  of  the  In- 
terior, begs  to  inform  the  acting  Consul  of  the 
United  States  of  America  that  the  King  of  Chieng 
Mai,  Pra  Chau  Kawilorot,  has  sent  down  letters  to 
Prince  Hluang  Luang  and  the  Prime  Minister  and 
myself,  the  purport  of  all  being  the  same,  namely, 
that  whereas  in  former  times  the  principalities  of 
Chieng  Mai  and  Lampun  and  Lakawn  had  never 
been  subject  to  visitation  of  famine,  now  for  two 
years,  the  Year  of  the  Tiger  (1866-67)  and  the 
Year  of  the  Rabbit  (1867-68),  there  has  been  a 
scarcity  of  rice.  It  is  evident  that  what  has  befallen 
the  country  is  because  in  these  lands  where  no  for- 
eigner ever  before  had  come  to  live  permanently, 
now  at  this  time  the  missionary,  McGilvary,  who 
has  come  as  a  teacher  of  religion,  had  taken  up  his 
residence  in  Chieng  Mai.  Hence,  these  calamities 
have  come  upon  them.  He,  the  King  of  Chieng 
Mai,  begs  that  the  consul  be  made  to  issue  an  order 
withdrawing  the  missionary,  McGilvary,  and  re- 
quiring his  return.  What  is  proper  to  be  done  in 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION  269 

this  matter?     You  are  requested  to  take  the  sub- 
ject into  consideration." 

To  this  the  acting  United  States  Consul,  Mr. 
McDonald,  replied  that  "He  had  received  the  com- 
munication of  His  Excellency  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  forwarding  the  complaint  of  the  King  of 
Chieng  Mai  alleging  Mr.  McGilvary  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  famine  in  his  domains  and  requesting 
his  removal.  In  reply  he  begs  to  say  that  it  strikes 
him  as  rather  singular  to  attribute  the  famine  dur- 
ing the  Year  of  the  Tiger  to  Mr.  McGilvary's  tak- 
ing up  his  residence  in  Chieng  Mai,  inasmuch  as 
the  scant  harvest  of  that  year  had  already  been 
reaped  before  Mr.  McGilvary  has  even  left  Bang- 
kok to  go  up  to  Chieng  Mai.  And  this  year,  1868- 
69,  though  Mr.  McGilvary  is  still  at  Chieng  Mai  we 
have  tidings  of  an  abundant  harvest  there.  More- 
over, in  1865-66  Korat  and  other  towns  in  that 
quarter  experienced  a  severe  famine,  and  yet  no 
foreigner  had  ever  resided  in  that  region  of  coun- 
try. As  to  his — the  consul's — being  required  to 
withdraw  Mr.  McGilvary,  and  constrain  him  to  re- 
turn it,  would  be  manifestly  wrong.  His  Excellency 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  the  Siamese  Gov- 
ernment, gave  consent  to  Mr.  McGilvary's  going 
up  to  Chieng  Mai,  and  he  went  on  the  invitation 
of  the  King  of  Chieng  Mai  himself  also.  More- 
over, he  has  expended  on  the  removal  of  his  family 
and  goods  no  small  amount  of  money.  That  he 
(the  consul)  should  be  asked  to  recall  Mr.  McGil- 
vary and  to  constrain  him  to  return  without  any 
transgression  of  the  laws  alleged  against  him,  in 


270  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

fact  without  any  reason  whatever,  would  not  be 
right.  The  consul  trusts  his  excellency  will  duly 
consider  this  matter  and  that  his  views  may  accord 
with  what  is  right  and  just  in  the  case." 

At  once  the  Minister  to  the  Interior  replied  to 
Mr.  McDonald,  and  said:  "That  his  views  fully  co- 
incided with  those  of  the  consul.  But  that,  never- 
theless, he  had  some  solicitude  about  the  matter 
because  the  King  of  Chieng  Mai  was  an  exceed- 
ingly arbitrary  man,  unscrupulous  and  difficult  to 
deal  with.  That  he  felt  constrained  to  say  so  much 
that  the  consul  might  be  apprised  of  the  true  state 
of  things." 

Thus  the  King  of  Chieng  Mai  found  himself 
foiled  in  his  attempt  to  rid  the  country  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. Necessarily  it  took  many  months  for 
him  to  discover  this  though  his  important  letters 
were  sent  to  Bangkok  by  speedy  couriers.  His 
wrath  lashed  him  to  bloody  schemes,  which  he  was 
in  part  able  to  carry  out.  All  the  while  he  acted 
the  part  of  a  friend  of  the  missionaries  so  well  that 
they  never  suspected  his  designs.  He  planned  in 
his  heart  to  kill  first  the  converts,  hoping  that  the 
missionaries  would  become  alarmed  and  leave. 

On  September  n,  Nan  Chai  and  Noi  Su  Ya  were 
arrested  under  false  charges  for  having  failed  to 
perform  their  corvee  labor.  The  fact  that  the  ac- 
cusation was  false  proved  the  blameless  lives  of  the 
men.  They  were  dragged  to  the  house  of  the  chief 
of  the  village  and  when  once  there  these  two  men 
saw  at  a  glance  the  mockery  of  the  show  of  justice, 
which  could  not  be  kept  up  much  longer  under  the 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION  271 

hatred  of  the  hearts  of  their  oppressors.  They 
were  accused  of  being  Christians,  which  they  ad- 
mitted. They  were  told  to  denounce  Jesus  and 
kneel  to  Buddha.  This  they  refused  to  do.  Again 
they  were  commanded  to  recant,  and  again  they 
refused.  Of  what  then  followed  Dr.  Wilson  wrote 
thus: — 

"While  Nan  Chai  was  giving  a  reason  for  the 
hope  that  was  in  him,  one  of  the  examiners  kicked 
him  in  the  eye,  leaving  it  all  bloodshot,  and  caus- 
ing it  to  swell  until  it  closed.  The  arms  of  the 
prisoners  were  then  tied  behind  their  backs,  their 
necks  were  compressed  between  two  pieces  of  tim- 
ber tied  before  and  behind  so  tightly  as  to  pain- 
fully impede  both  respiration  and  circulation  of  the 
blood.  They  were  then  placed  in  a  sitting  posture 
near  a  wall  and  cords  attached  to  the  ears  (in  the 
pierced  lobes),  were  tied  to  the  wall  behind.  In 
this  constrained  and  painful  position,  not  able  to 
turn  their  heads  nor  to  bow  them  in  slumber  they 
remained  from  Monday  afternoon  until  Tuesday 
morning  about  10  o'clock  when  they  were  led  out 
into  the  jungle  to  be  executed.  They  kneel  down 
and  Nan  Chai  is  requested  to  pray.  He  does  so, 
crying  out  that  his  enemies  might  be  forgiven,  his 
last  petition  being,  'Lord  Jesus,  receive  my 
spirit/  The  tenderness  of  the  scene  melts  some  of 
his  enemies  to  tears.  The  heads  of  the  prisoners, 
prisoners  for  Jesus'  sake,  are  drawn  back  by  slightly 
raising  the  cruel  yoke.  The  executioner  ap- 
proaches with  his  club.  Nan  Chai  receives  the 
stroke  on  the  front  of  his  neck,  and  his  body  sinks 


272  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

to  the  ground  a  lifeless  corpse.  Noi  Su  Ya  receives 
upon  the  front  of  his  neck  five  or  six  strokes,  but  as 
life  is  not  yet  extinct,  a  spear  is  plunged  into  his 
heart.  His  body  is  bathed  in  blood,  and  his  spirit 
joins  that  of  his  martyred  brother."  The  families 
of  these  two  sainted  men  were  not  allowed  to  ex- 
press any  condolence  or  sorrow,  or  love  for  the 
prisoners.  The  wife  of  one  sat  beside  her  husband 
until,  overcome  by  her  grief,  she  was  driven  away 
and  threatened  into  silence.  Several  times  during 
the  mock  trial  did  Nan  Chai  and  Noi  Su  Ya  plead 
for  the  servants  of  the  missionaries,  that  they  might 
not  be  killed,  and  that  bloody  hands  might  not  be 
laid  upon  the  "teachers."  These  entreaties  for  the 
lives  of  the  servants  were  heart-touching,  and  prob- 
ably had  much  to  do  with  their  being  spared.  The 
loved  ones  of  these  two  men  hung  upon  the  out- 
skirts of  the  crowd,  very  like  to  the  group  of  women 
about  Calvary,  helpless  to  interfere,  yet  agonized 
in  spirit.  The  bodies  of  the  martyrs  were  cast  into 
a  shallow  grave. 

"The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war, 

A  kingly  crown  to  gain ; 
His  blood-red  banner  streams  afar, 
Who  follows  in  his  train? 

"The  martyr  first,  whose  eagle  eye 
Could  pierce  beyond  the  grave, 
Who  saw  his  Master  in  the  sky, 
And  called  on  him  to  save; 

"Like  him  with  pardon  on  his  tongue, 

In  midst  of  mortal  pain, 
He  prayed  for  them  that  did  the  wrong; 
Who  follows  in  his  train?" 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION  273 

No  one  told  this  tragedy  to  the  missionaries,  but 
as  soon  as  tidings  of  it  reached  Chieng  Mai,  the 
servants  left  the  mission  compounds,  without  warn- 
ing or  explanation.  It  was  two  weeks  before  any 
one  told  either  Dr.  McGilvary  or  Dr.  Wilson  what 
had  happened.  These  two  weeks  were  rilled  with 
suspense.  The  usual  crowd  of  visitors  to  the  mis- 
sion compounds  were  suspended.  Everywhere  the 
"teachers"  went  they  were  shunned,  and  a  conver- 
sation could  be  held  with  no  one.  The  air  was 
filled  with  forebodings  of  evil.  Rumors  of  horrible 
deeds  committed  and  of  more  terrible  ones  to  fol- 
low drifted  to  the  ears.  The  very  air  they  breathed 
was  ominous.  There  was  but  one  thing  to  do,  Be 
still  and  wait.  They  tried  as  far  as  possible  to  go 
the  regular  rounds  of  daily  life.  A  few  came  to  the 
compounds  ostensibly  for  medicines,  but  they  were 
known  to  be  spies,  and  to  these  the  gospel  was 
preached.  A  most  trying  feature  of  the  situation 
was  that  they  felt  in  duty  bound  to  keep  their  fears 
from  their  children.  It  was  September  26  before 
they  heard  what  had  happened.  The  truth,  bad 
enough,  was  magnified.  Dr.  Wilson  walked  out  at 
once  to  Noi  Su  Ya's  village  and  found  that  he  and 
Nan  Chai  had  actually  been  martyred.  He  re- 
turned heavy  at  heart.  No  tidings  could  be  had 
of  the  other  five  converts,  as  they  were  all  in  hiding. 
Letters  were  written  describing  the  situation  and 
were  dispatched  to  the  brethren  in  Bangkok.  Great 
alarm  prevailed  upon  receiving  the  news.  Though 
the  missionaries  there  feared  that  both  of  the 
pioneer  families  might  then  be  dead,  they  hastened 


274  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

to  do  all  they  could  to  assist  them  if  indeed  they 
might  still  be  alive.  The  matter  was  laid  before 
his  grace  the  regent,  and  he  promised  to  dispatch 
a  special  commissioner  to  the  Laos  at  once.  The 
commissioner  was  to  carry  stringent  orders  that 
the  King  of  Chieng  Mai  should  acknowledge  the 
treaty  rights  existing  between  the  United  States 
and  Siam  and  protect  the  foreigners.  The  regent 
said,  however,  that  he  could  do  nothing  in  behalf 
of  the  native  Christians,  as  the  King  of  Laos  was 
supreme  in  internal  affairs  in  his  kingdom. 

It  was  decided  that  the  Rev.  N.  A.  McDonald 
and  the  Rev.  S.  C.  George  of  the  mission  should 
accompany  the  commissioner,  and  so  the  little  com- 
pany started  up  river  with  all  the  haste  that  it  was 
possible  to  make.  To  save  time  they  left  their 
boats  at  Raheng  and  went  overland  upon  elephants 
to  Chieng  Mai.  They  found  the  two  families  alive 
and  bearing  up  under  the  strain  with  unusual  cour- 
age. 

An  interview  with  the  king  followed.  At  first 
the  letter  of  the  regent  was  attended  to  and  the 
king  mildly  acquiesced  in  regard  to  the  mission- 
aries. But  wrhen  the  murder  of  the  native  Chris- 
tians was  referred  to,  he  became  consumed  with 
uncontrollable  anger,  and  admitted  that  they  had 
been  killed  by  his  order,  and  further  said  that  he 
would  continue  to  kill  all  his  subjects  who  became 
Christians,  as  he  regarded  the  leaving  of  the  re- 
ligion of  Buddhism  as  rebellion  against  himself. 
He  then  went  on  to  say  most  emphatically  and 
defiantly  that  if  the  missionaries  remained  he  could 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION  275 

not  help  it,  but  if  they  taught  religion  that  he  would 
expel  them  from  the  country.  And  so  the  stormy 
and  unsatisfactory  interview  closed.  The  commis- 
sioner urged  the  missionaries  to  accompany  him 
back  to  Bangkok,  but  they  desired  to  remain  so 
long  as  there  was  a  ray  of  hope  discernible  by 
faith. 

When  the  commissioner  reported  at  Bangkok, 
the  Government  desired  to  recall  the  missionaries 
and  would  have  done  so  but  for  the  importunate, 
forceful  pleading  of  Dr.  Bradley,  the  father  of  Mrs. 
McGilvary,  that  they  might  remain.  Dr.  Wilson 
thought  it  probably  best  to  retire  to  Raheng,  within 
the  confines  of  Siam  proper,  and  still  at  the  borders 
of  Laos,  but  the  two  years  in  the  little  sala  had  given 
Dr.  McGilvary  such  visions  of  the  Laos  coming  to 
Christ  that  he  steadfastly  purposed  to  hold  the  field. 
He  felt  that  much  could  be  gained  if  they  simply 
held  the  field.  And  so  the  days  slipped  by,  and  at 
night  they  lay  down  not  knowing  what  might  befall 
them  before  day  should  break.  The  country  was 
in  an  unsettled  condition.  The  Red  Karens  had 
been  giving  trouble,  and  hill  tribes  had  been  mak- 
ing raids  and  night  attacks  upon  villages  and  towns. 
It  was  feared  by  the  missionaries  that  the  rage  of 
the  king  might  break  forth  and  that  he  might  order 
a  night  massacre  covering  his  deed  and  protecting 
himself  under  the  cry,  "The  Red  Karens!  The  Hill 
Tribes!"  A  record  of  these  dark  days  was  made 
and  hid  in  the  air  box  of  the  melodeon,  hoping  that 
in  case  of  death,  it  would  be  found  by  friends  in 
their  search  for  them.  Subsequently  it  was  lost, 


276  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

and  so  the  church  is  without  the  thrilling  experi- 
ences of  those  days  as  it  was  written  at  the  time 
when  all  the  incidents  were  fresh  in  the  mind,  a 
living  reality. 

So  bitter  and  hostile  did  the  king  continue  that 
it  became  necessary  for  Dr.  McGilvary  to  promise 
that  they  would  withdraw.  But  he  urged  that  the 
season  was  far  advanced  and  the  water  low,  mak- 
ing travel  slow  and  difficult,  and  he  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  wait  for  the  next  high  water,  six  months 
hence,  at  the  latest  eight  months,  before  he  should 
embark.  To  this  the  king  reluctantly  acquiesced. 
Dr.  McGilvary  then  wrote  letters  to  the  brethren  at 
Bangkok,  to  the  Board,  and  the  home  church,  stat- 
ing the  situation,  and  urging  that  they  would  join 
him  in  pleading  for  God's  interposition  in  behalf 
of  the  mission  that  the  field  might  be  held.  That 
if  God  did  not  work  a  deliverance  for  the  mission 
that  it  would  have  to  be  abandoned  at  the  latest  in 
eight  months. 

Now,  it  so  happened  that  this  King  of  Chieng 
Mai  found  that  he  must  go  to  Bangkok  to  attend 
the  ceremonies  of  the  cremation  of  his  late  suze- 
rain king,  Fa  Mongkut,  and  so  he  had  to  leave 
his  kingdom  just  after  extracting  the  promise  from 
Dr.  McGilvary,  early  in  the  year  1870.  While  in 
Bangkok  he  was  importuned  by  the  Siam  mission 
to  grant  leave  for  the  Laos  missionaries  to  remain 
or  else  extend  the  time  limit,  but  he  defiantly  re- 
fused both.  During  this  visit  at  the  capital  he  was 
seized  with  a  dread  disease  which  baffled  the  skill 
of  his  doctors.  He  realized  his  alarming  condition, 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND   PERSECUTION  277 

and  so  ordered  a  speedy  return  to  his  kingdom,  for 
it  is  the  most  woeful  of  catastrophes  for  a  Laos 
prince  to  die  outside  of  his  city  walls.  The  royal 
flotilla  of  boats  started  up  the  then  thread  of  a 
stream  with  the  weak  and  suffering  king  stretched 
on  the  floor  of  his  cabin,  praying  that  he  might 
live  to  reach  his  city  walls. 

In  the  meantime,  the  missionaries  marked  the 
passing  months,  and  no  sign  of  deliverance,  but 
their  faith  shook  not.  Dr.  Wilson  would  not  retire 
to  Raheng  and  leave  his  friend  alone,  so  they  abode 
together.  And  the  seasons  passed  and  the  rains 
descended,  and  the  last  day  of  grace  drew  nigh  for 
the  little  band  of  waiting,  trusting  missionaries. 
They  then  began  all  but  to  count  the  hours.  But 
there  was  also  another  band,  a  dark-faced  company, 
with  anxious  faces,  too.  They  were  those  who 
formed  the  attendants  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of 
Chieng  Mai.  They  were  bearing  him  forward  on  a 
litter  toward  his  city  as  rapidly  as  their  feet  could 
go.  He  could  no  longer  stand  the  toilsome  journey 
in  his  boat  and  in  his  anguish  of  pain  he  cried  out 
that  he  might  be  borne  upon  a  litter.  And  so  they 
lifted  him  to  an  improvised  litter  and  bore  him 
away.  But  his  suffering  increased  and  he  was  filled 
with  despair  lest  he  should  die  before  he  reached 
his  city  walls.  And,  behold !  when  in  the  distance 
the  walls  were  sighted,  he  expired. 

And  so  deliverance  in  an  unexpected  way  had 
come  to  the  mission,  but  deliverance  just  as  surely 
as  was  that  of  Peter  when  imprisoned  by  Herod's 
wicked  hand.  And  though  the  faith  of  the  mis- 


278  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

sionaries  had  been  sorely  tested,  it  had  rung  true, 
and  God  did  not  fail  them,  but  gave  deliverance 
and  enlargement  to  the  work  of  their  hands. 

The  successor  to  the  Herod-king  was  a  man  of 
keen  intellect  and  kindly  disposition.  His  wife 
was  a  warm  friend  to  the  ladies  of  the  mission,  and 
so  the  new  government  came  into  power  and  ex- 
pressed at  once  a  friendly  feeling  toward  the  mis- 
sion. 

One  other  incident  of  these  early  days  must  be 
given,  not  for  its  bearing  upon  the  mission  history, 
but  because  it  reveals  a  phase  of  mission  life  and 
shows  the  necessity  of  a  missionary's  being  an  all- 
round-about  man.  When  it  had  become  necessary 
to  organize  a  church  in  the  mission,  Dr.  Samuel  R. 
House,  of  the  Bangkok  mission,  offered  to  go  up 
to  his  brethren  there.  He  left  his  boat  at  Raheng 
and  proceeded  by  elephant  over  the  mountains. 
He  had  noticed  that  his  beast  was  bad  tempered, 
and  upon  reaching  Lampun  the  creature  gave  vent 
to  his  distemper,  shook  his  driver  and  Dr.  House 
from  his  back,  and  enraged,  gored  the  latter 
severely,  wounding  him  in  the  abdomen.  The 
natives  managed  to  get  the  elephant  away,  and 
then,  because  of  their  superstitious  fears,  fled,  leav- 
ing Dr.  House  alone,  wounded,  and  in  the  fierce 
sun  blaze.  Fortunately,  one  of  the  spectators  ran 
to  Chieng  Mai  and  informed  Dr.  McGilvary  of  the 
accident.  In  the  meantime  Dr.  House,  realizing 
his  critical  condition,  tried  to  drag  himself  to  the 
shade,  but  could  not,  as  he  was  too  weak.  He 
could  just  reach  his  satchel,  which  he  opened,  and 


FIRST  GROWTH  AND  PERSECUTION  279 

by  means  of  his  hand  mirror  sewed  up  the  wound 
— a  dangerous  condition  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances — and  there  he  lay  in  the  heat  and  the 
dust,  with  parched  lips  and  weakened  from  loss  of 
blood  and  pain.  In  due  time,  Dr.  McGilvary  ar- 
rived, and  he  was  borne  to  Chieng  Mai,  where  he 
was  tenderly  cared  for  and  nursed  back  to  life. 

In  the  early  apostolic  days  of  the  church,  the 
enemies  of  the  cross  endeavored  to  crush  out  the 
new  religion  that  was  gaining  such  a  foothold 
within  even  the  sacred  walls  of  Jerusalem  itself. 
And  so  with  wicked  hand  they  stoned  Stephen  and 
scattered  the  church.  For  a  time  it  looked  as 
though  they  had  given  what  might  prove  to  be  a 
death  blow,  but  we  know  how  it  is  written, 

"Therefore  they  that  were  scattered  abroad 
Went  everywhere  preaching  the  word," 

and  the  church  grew  and  was  multiplied.  And  so 
it  was  among  the  Laos.  For  awhile  it  looked  as 
though  the  seed  of  the  church  had  been  killed,  for 
there  was  no  visible  life.  But  as  it  has  ever  been 
of  old,  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  watered  that  seed, 
and  adown  deep  in  the  ground  the  life  was  stirring. 
It  was  a  year  and  a  half  before  another  convert,  Nan 
Ta,  was  baptized,  and  he  proved  to  be  the  first- 
fruits  of  a  great  harvest.  For  some  time  before 
his  baptism  the  missionaries  had  known  him  to  be 
a  believer,  but  they  did  not  urge  him  to  make  a 
public  profession.  He  came  of  his  own  accord  and 
applied  for  the  ordinance  and  for  the  opportunity 
to  confess  his  faith  publicly.  His  examination  was 


280  THE    LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

heart-searching  but  he  manifested  a  calm,  de- 
termined spirit,  yet  humble  withal. 

And  now  from  every  side  came  inquirers,  not  in 
Chieng  Mai  alone,  but  from  all  over  the  kingdom, 
and  this  for  many  reasons.  From  the  first  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary  had  made  tours  into  the  villages  and  towns 
of  the  province  and  in  the  provinces  beyond.  The 
scattered  converts  had  preached  the  word  wher- 
ever they  had  fled  from  the  sword  of  persecution. 
The  news  of  the  martyrdom  had  spread  throughout 
the  country  and  every  one  was  asking,  "Why  were 
they  killed?  What  gave  them  such  a  spirit  of 
fortitude  and  peace?  What  kind  of  a  religion  is 
this  that  makes  new  men  of  old  ones?"  and  thus 
were  the  people  aroused  and  there  were  added  to 
the  church  of  such  as  should  be  saved. 

Among  those  who  were  added  at  this  time  was 
one  Sen  Ya  Wichai,  who  had  heard  Mrs.  McGil- 
vary  teaching  in  the  sala  over  two  years  before. 
He  had  not  been  able  to  escape  from  the  thoughts 
aroused  by  her  words,  and  he  returned  to  receive 
further  instruction.  Soon  he  was  led  to  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  And  so  we  could  go  on 
telling  of  these  early  conversions  so  full  of  interest, 
but  we  will  have  to  be  content  with  knowing  that 
there  was  a  mighty  stirring  of  life  among  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  and  that  the  church  grew  and  the 
believers_were  greatly  multiplied. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE    SECOND    PERSECUTION    AND    EXPANSION 

AMONG  the  many  pressing  needs  of  the  mission 
during  its  early  days  was  that  of  a  medical  mission- 
ary, and  in  1871,  Dr.  C.  W.  Vrooman  was  sent  to 
the  field.  His  arrival  was  most  opportune,  for 
faithful  Nan  Inta  was  all  but  dead  with  chronic 
dysentery.  And  thus  his  life  was  saved  for  many 
more  years  of  fruitful  labor.  In  the  midst  of  en- 
deavoring to  meet  the  daily  demands  and  multi- 
farious duties  of  the  mission,  Dr.  McGilvary  and 
Dr.  Vrooman  planned  to  make  a  tour  of  the  Laos 
provinces  as  soon  as  they  could  get  away  from 
Chieng  Mai.  TKey  wished  to  ascertain  "the  size 
and  comparative  importance  of  the  Laos  chief  cities 
and  villages — which  were  comparatively  unknown 
to  them — in  reference  to  missionary  work,  to  preach 
the  gospel,  and  to  observe  the  disposition  of  the 
authorities  and  people  toward  foreigners,  especially 
toward  teachers  of  the  Christian  religion."  But  so 
pressing  were  claims  upon  them  from  day  to  day 
that  the  rainy  season  of  1872  had  begun  before  they 
started  on  their  long,  perilous  journey.  The  king 
had  kindly  furnished  them  with  passports  without 
which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  made 
the  trip.  This  journey  is  remarkable  for  several 
reasons,  but  principally  because  it  embraced  the 
entire  mission  in  its  length  and  breadth,  as  it  stands 

281 


282  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

to-day.  Furthermore  these  brave  men  pushed  on 
to  the  great  province  of  Luang  Prabang,  which  is 
now  under  French  rule,  and  where  the  Laos  church 
is  carrying  on  its  first  foreign  missionary  work. 

Shortly  after  the  return  from  this  tour,  Dr.  Mc- 
Gilvary,  with  his  family,  leaving  the  work  in  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Wilson  and  Dr.  Vrooman,  assisted  by 
Nan  Inta,  sailed  for  America.  Dr.  McGilvary  had 
been  on  the  field — Siam  and  Laos — for  fifteen 
years,  and  he  and  his  wife  and  children  stood  sadly 
in  need  of  rest  and  change.  They  left  Bangkok 
April  19,  and  the  following  August  Dr.  Vrooman 
resigned  and  followed  them.  In  his  short  term  of 
service  of  a  year  and  a  half  he  had  accomplished 
a  great  work  for  Laos  and  the  mission  lost  in  him 
a  valuable  man. 

In  the  fall  of  1874,  Dr.  McGilvary  and  family  re- 
turned to  their  field,  and  early  in  1875  were  joined 
by  Marion  A.  Cheek,  M.  D.,  a  young  man  from 
Dr.  McGilvary's  native  State  of  North  Carolina. 
He  remained  in  Bangkok  long  enough  before 
starting  up  river  to  meet  and  fall  in  love  with  Miss 
Sarah  A.  Bradley,  sister  of  Mrs.  McGilvary.  Within 
a  few  months  he  returned  to  Bangkok  and  was 
married  to  her. 

In  June,  1876,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  and  chil- 
dren, with  health  quite  broken  down,  returned  to 
America  on  furlough.  The  mission  was  then  upon 
a  good  footing  to  the  visible  eye.  A  compound 
had  been  granted  by  the  king  for  a  physician's 
house  and  hospital.  The  latter  was  simply  a  bit 
of  bamboo  structure,  but  it  served  well  as  a  be- 


SECOND  PERSECUTION  AND  EXPANSION        283 

ginning  for  the  great  Chieng  Mai  hospital  as  it  ex- 
ists to-day.  This  site  was  very  near  to  the  old 
sala,  where  the  McGilvary  family  lived  the  first  two 
years.  There  was  also  a  good-sized  compound 
across  the  river  and  below  the  bridge,  where  Dr. 
McGilvary  and  Dr.  Wilson  lived,  and  where  the 
former  still  resides.  A  small  lithograph  press  was 
in  use.  It  was  a  great  aid  to  the  mission,  though 
wholly  inadequate  to  the  needs. 

Among  the  conversions  which  marked  the  year 
1876  was  that  of  the  wife  of  Nan  Inta.  She  had 
remained  a  stanch  Buddhist  all  those  years,  and 
had  been  more  than  a  "thorn  in  the  flesh"  to  her 
husband.  He  now  seemed  lifted  to  realms  of  in- 
toxicant joy,  which  was  soon  to  be  heightened  by 
seeing  two  daughters,  a  son,  and  a  son-in-law, 
brought  into  the  fold.  That  same  year  of  grace 
touched  the  heart  of  the  wife  of  one  of  the  martyrs 
and  a  general  awakening  of  the  country  seemed  im- 
minent. This  was  the  fear  of  the  official  class  and 
the  Sacred  Order.  They  said,  'The  whole  coun- 
try will  be  running  after  this  new  religion  if  we 
do  not  interfere,"  and  so  began  a  series  of  petty 
persecutions,  persecutions  carried  on  in  families, 
in  clans,  in  villages.  At  every  turn  the  mission- 
aries were  faced  with  it,  but  it  was  being  carried 
on  in  so  subtle  a  way  that  it  was  difficult  to  handle. 
These  persecutions  were  not  countenanced  by  the 
king,  but  the  person  next  in  rank  to  him,  termed 
the  Second  King,  or  Chau  Haw  Na,  was  a  bitter 
enemy  to  the  mission,  and  did  all  he  could  to  fan 
the  flame.  He  secretly  wrote  letters  to  the  vari- 


284  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

ous  governors  and  officials,  bidding  them  to  force 
the  Christians  to  pay  to  the  full  extent  all  corvee 
laws  of  the  nation,  province,  and  locality.  This 
was  letting  open  the  flood  gates  for  all  manner  of 
oppressions.  He  also  wrote  letters  saying  that  all 
who  should  in  the  future  join  the  church  would 
be  severely  punished.  Thus  a  mild  form  of  Nero 
rule  prevailed.  It  finally  culminated  in  May,  1878, 
when  Dr.  McGilvary  undertook  to  perform  his  first 
marriage  ceremony  among  the  natives. 

Kam  Tip,  a  daughter  of  Nan  Inta,  was  to  be 
married  to  a  deserving  young  man,  and  Mrs. 
McGilvary,  wishing  to  make  the  sacredness  of  the 
occasion  impressive  upon  the  large  circle  of  friends 
of  the  bride  and  groom,  made  ready  to  have  the 
simple  ceremony  in  her  home.  And  so  prepara- 
tions moved  forward,  and  among  the  natives  there 
was  quite  a  buzz  of  interest  as  to  what  a  Christian 
wedding  might  be. 

When  the  day  arrived  and  all  was  in  readiness, 
there  suddenly  arose  a  mountain  of  difficulty  in  the 
way.  It  was  known  that  there  was  opposition  to 
the  wedding,  but  it  was  not  suspected  that  it  was 
of  so  serious  a  nature.  The  head  man  of  Nan 
Inta's  clan,  a  kind  of  patriarch,  refused  to  give  his 
consent.  He,  according  to  custom,  had  a  right  to 
the  fees  connected  with  the  spirit-worship  which  ac- 
companies Laos  marriages.  He  notified  Nan  Inta 
that  if  he  paid  the  fees,  he  might  then  have  the 
Christian  ceremony  performed,  but  that  if  he  did 
not  pay  the  fees  and  insisted  upon  having  the  mar- 
riage, that  he  would  hold  Nan  Inta  responsible  for 


SECOND  PERSECUTION  AND  EXPANSION        285 

any  loss  or  mishap  or  sorrow  that  should  occur  in 
the  clan  hereafter,  and  would  lay  it  all  to  his  hav- 
ing offended  the  spirits.  Both  Nan  Inta  and  Dr. 
McGilvary  were  wise  enough  to  see  at  a  glance 
what  untold  misfortunes  might  befall  the  mission 
if  the  marriage  ceremony  were  performed.  They 
had  right  on  their  side,  but  immemorial  custom 
and  prejudice  were  allied  against  them,  and  they 
postponed  the  wedding.  Dr.  McGilvary  felt  that 
at  last  the  time  had  come  to  make  an  application 
to  the  throne  in  Bangkok  for  an  edict  of  free  toler- 
ation of  religion  for  the  Laos.  And  so  he  wrote  of 
the  situation  and  ended  the  letter  with  an  earnest 
plea  for  an  edict  of  religious  toleration,  and  sent  it 
to  the  capital.  The  Siamese  Government  was  at  that 
time  beginning  to  wean  the  provinces  of  their  State 
powers,  and  so  the  mission  had  high  hopes  for  the 
edict.  On  September  29,  1878,  King  Chulalong- 
korn  issued  a  proclamation  of  religious  toleration 
in  the  provinces  of  Chieng  Mai,  Lampun,  and 
Lakawn.  Thus  did  God  again  turn  the  wrath  of 
man  to  praise  him. 

That  fall,  1878,  Dr.  Wilson  returned  to  his  field 
alone,  as  Mrs.  Wilson's  health  did  not  permit  her 
to  accompany  him.  WTith  him  were  two  gifted 
young  women,  Miss  Edna  S.  Cole  and  Miss  Mary 
Campbell,  who  came  to  reinforce  the  mission.  The 
latter  after  two  years  of  service  was  drowned  while 
bathing  in  the  river.  The  former  did  excellent 
work  in  Chieng  Mai  until  1883  when  she  was 
forced  to  return  to  America  on  furlough  by  ill 
health.  Upon  her  recovery  she  was  transferred  by 


286  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

the  Board  to  Bangkok  where  she  has  since  labored 
and  is  especially  noted  for  her  most  successful  work 
as  principal  of  the  school  for  girls  at  Wang  Lang. 

After  the  Proclamation  of  Religious  Toleration, 
the  work  of  the  mission  moved  forward  with  new 
life.  Miss  Cole  took  charge  of  the  school  for  girls 
begun  by  Mrs.  McGilvary  and  Mrs.  Cheek,  and 
she  soon  had  thirty-five  young  girls  in  her  care. 
On  July  4,  seventeen  members  of  the  Chieng  Mai 
church  and  fourteen  baptized  children  asked  for 
letters  of  dismissal  that  they  might  be  organized 
into  a  church  some  little  distance  removed  from 
the  city  at  a  point  central  for  the  members.  Nan 
Inta  and  his  family  were  among  the  number.  The 
new  church  was  named  Bctlehcm,  "Bethlehem,"  by 
Dr.  Wilson  for  his  childhood  church  in  Western 
Pennsylvania.  This  colonizing  determination  of 
the  mother  church  at  Chieng  Mai  is  one  of  the 
secrets  of  its  marvelous  growth. 

The  same  year  Dr.  McGilvary  spent  October  in 
Lakawn  organizing  a  church  there.  At  that  time 
he  baptized  six  adults.  The  incidents  connected 
with  the  conversion  of  the  first  member  of  this 
church  are  interesting.  In  1877  a  man  of  high 
rank  came  to  Chieng  Mai  and  asked  for  medicine 
to  cure  his  deafness,  and  based  his  claim  for  cure 
upon  the  miracles  that  Christ  had  wrought.  Upon 
investigation  Dr.  McGilvary  discovered  that  he  was 
the  highest  officer  of  the  court  in  Lakawn  and  at 
that  time  was  over  seventy  years  of  age.  Twenty 
years  before  he  had  visited  Bangkok,  and  Dr. 
Bradley  had  given  him  the  Bible  and  other  books 


SECOND  PERSECUTION  AND  EXPANSION        287 

printed  in  Siamese.  These  he  had  studied  dili- 
gently, that  he  might  acquire  the  Siamese  lan- 
guage. He  had  been  much  impressed  with  gospel 
truths,  though  he  did  not  have  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  them  nor  did  he  accept  them  in  his  heart. 
He  now  gave  himself  to  diligent  study,  under  the 
missionaries,  comparing  their  teaching  with  the 
teaching  of  Buddha,  which  he  had  taken  the  care 
to  procure  from  a  neighboring  wat.  In  time  he  ac- 
cepted the  new  faith  and  made  a  public  profession 
thereof.  At  once  he  was  ordered  by  the  official 
circle  in  Lakawn  to  return.  He  anticipated  death, 
but  said  to  his  Christian  friends,  "If  they  want  to 
kill  me  because  I  am  a  follower  of  Christ  I  will  let 
them  pierce  me."  His  fears  were  not  realized  in 
full,  as  his  life  was  spared;  but  office,  wealth,  and 
social  position  were  all  stripped  from  him  and  he 
was  ostracized  by  his  frends.  This  man  was  the 
nucleus  for  the  church  in  Lakawn. 

The  Chieng  Mai  and  Bethlehem  churches  were 
blessed  with  the  life  and  labors  of  Nan  Inta  until 
1882,  when  he  died.  Dr.  Wilson  was  with  him  at 
the  time  and  he  speaks  thus  of  his  peaceful  end: 
"When  told  that  he  could  not  live  through  the  day 
he  turned  to  his  eldest  child  and  committed  the 
mother  to  his  care.  He  gave  his  hand  to  each  of 
us  first,  then  to  his  faithful  wife  and  children  and 
grandchildren,  and  last  to  the  church  members, 
saying  to  them,  'Be  patient!  Be  patient!  Trust 
in  Jesus,  all  of  you/  To  his  youngest  son  he  said, 
'I  am  walking  on  the  way  you.  all  must  go;  only 
be  ready  for  our  Lord.  Oh,  my  son,  do  not  fall 


288  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

from  the  right  path!  Trust  in  the  Lord  now,  and 
do  his  work  as  I  have  tried  to  do.  You  will  suffer 
many  trials,  but  they  will  be  forgotten  when  the 
day  of  reward  conies.  You  plant  the  rice  fields  in 
the  water  and  the  rain,  but  three  months  from  now 
you  will  gather  the  harvest.  Learn  from  your 
yearly  work  the  lesson  of  life  and  strengthen  your- 
self in  Jesus/  He  suffered  greatly,  but  toward  the 
last  he  lay  quietly  as  if  sleeping,  then  suddenly 
opened  his  eyes  and  looked  at  me  as  if  he  would 
speak,  but  he  was  not  looking  at  me,  for  his  eyes 
were  full  of  light  and  joy.  A  smile  passed  over 
his  face,  and  at  the  same  instant  he  breathed  his 
last." 

That  same  year  the  medical  work  had  so  de- 
veloped that  upwards  of  thirteen  thousand  patients 
were  prescribed  for  by  Dr.  Cheek.  The  following 
year  Dr.  McGilvary  and  family  were  again  forced 
to  America  on  furlough.  When  they  returned  they 
carried  with  them  as  recruits  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J, 
Hearst  and  the  Rev.  S.  G.  Peoples,  M.  D.,  also  the 
Misses  Griffin,  Wirt,  Wishard,  and  Warner.  Mr. 
Hearst  succumbed  almost  at  once  to  malarial  fever, 
and  was  so  prostrate  that  he  had  to  leave  the  field 
permanently.  The  mission  soon  lost,  in  1883,  Miss 
Wishard,  as  she  was  married  to  a  missionary  in 
Canton,  and  toward  the  close  of  the  year  Miss 
Wirt  was  married  to  Dr.  Peoples.  Miss  Warner 
was  with  the  mission  only  two  years,  but  Miss  Grif- 
fin has  remained  in  Chieng  Mai  all  these  years, 
faithful  and  true  to.  her  charge  in  the  girls'  school. 

In  1884  Miss  Westervelt  and  the  Rev.  and  Mrs. 


SECOND  PERSECUTION  AND  EXPANSION        289 

Chalmers  Martin  arrived  in  Chieng  Mai.  Mr. 
Martin  was  granted  only  three  years  of  service  upon 
the  field,  as  he  succumbed  to  climatic  influences 
and  was  forced  to  leave.  In  those  few  years  he 
accomplished  a  great  work  for  the  mission,  and 
was  so  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  the  natives  that 
they  have  never  forgotten  him. 

In  the  fall  of  1883,  Dr.  McGilvary  spent  a  month 
in  Lakawn  getting  a  persecuted  elder  out  of  prison. 
While  there  he  applied  to  the  throne  in  Bangkok  to 
establish  a  station  there.  The  king  warmly  re- 
sponded and  a  most  desirable  lot  facing  the  water 
front  was  obtained,  with  an  additional  gift  of  two 
thousand  rupees  from  his  majesty  for  a  hospital.  At 
the  next  meeting  of  the  mission  they  formally  re- 
solved to  establish  a  station  there,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Peoples  volunteered  for  it.  About  this  time,  the 
mother  church  sent  off  another  colony — the  third 
— which  was  organized  into  a  church  called  the  Me 
Dawk  Deng  Church.  It  soon  numbered  thirty-six 
full  communicants.  The  outlook  for  the  whole 
field  had  become  one  of  multiplied  and  multiplying 
labors. 

In  1886  Dr.  Cheek  resigned  from  the  mission 
and  became  engaged  in  secular  business  in  the 
country.  Dr.  A.  M.  Cary  was  sent  out  that  year  to 
take  his  place.  With  him  also  came  the  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  D.  G.  Collins  and  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Dodd.  On 
the  trying  trip  up  river  from  Bangkok  Mrs.  Cary, 
who  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Collins,  yielded  to  an  at- 
tack of  fever  and  died  just  below  Raheng.  It  was 
an  hour  of  midnight  darkness  for  the  little  party 
19 


290  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

when  they  laid  the  young  wife  and  missionary  in 
her  grave  beneath  the  trees  in  the  deep  and  silent 
woods. 

The  year  1889  is  known  as  the  Year  of  Grace 
in  the  mission.  One  of  the  events  which  thus 
characterized  the  year  was  the  organization  of  a 
church  at  Chieng  Sen  with  twenty-three  adult 
members  and  twenty-eight  baptized  children,  a  city 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  northeast 
of  Chieng  Mai.  Before  the  year  closed  twelve  new 
members  were  added  to  the  church,  half  of  them 
adults,  making  the  adult  membership  twenty-nine. 
As  this  bright  and  growing  church  illustrates  the 
efforts  of  one  godly  man,  and  also  reveals  a  type 
of  Laos  Christian  manhood,  we  will  sketch  it  in 
brief.  About  the  time  of  the  second  persecution 
the  government  decided  to  reestablish  the  old  city 
of  Chieng  Sen,  which  had  been  destroyed  by  war 
and  had  lain  waste  for  seventy  years.  So  they  or- 
dered certain  families,  descendants  from  the  orig- 
inal inhabitants,  to  go  to  Chieng  Sen  and  settle 
there.  A  Christian  by  the  name  of  Nan  Su  Wan 
was  among  those  ordered  to  go,  and  he  and  his 
family,  sad  at  heart,  started  off  upon  their  long 
journey.  His  piety  was  strong  enough  to  stand 
the  transplanting,  a  change  of  scene  and  conditions 
more  marked  than  those  which  have  wrecked  the 
lives  of  many  in  America.  All  through  the  years 
of  isolation  from  the  Christian  assembly  and  the 
teaching  and  preaching  of  the  word,  he  remained  a 
living  power  for  Christ.  Every  few  years  Dr. 
McGilvary  would  visit  him  and  always  there  would 


SECOND  PERSECUTION  AND  EXPANSION        29! 

be  a  band  of  catechumens  that  Nan  Su  Wan  had 
gathered  into  a  class,  for  him  to  baptize  and  receive 
into  the  full  communion  of  the  church.  At  the 
same  time  a  work  of  grace  similar  to  this  one  was 
going  on  in  a  city  forty  miles  south  of  Chieng  Sen, 
the  city  of  Chieng  Rai.  The  work  there  had  been 
begun  by  one  of  the  first  seven  converts,  and  the 
Christian  company  numbered  fifty  souls.  They 
were,  however,  too  scattered  to  be  organized  into  a 
church  as  was  the  little  band  at  Chieng  Sen. 

This  same  year  marked  the  establishing  of  a  per- 
manent out-station  at  Lampun.  This  was  done 
under  the  most  encouraging  circumstances.  An 
elder  was  stationed  there  to  look  after  the  work. 
He  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  work,  as  he  had 
been  for  many  years  the  head  monk  in  one  of  the 
wats  there,  and  knew  the  place  and  people  well. 
At  the  communion  service  held  at  that  time  six 
adults  were  received  and  six  children  baptized. 
Seven  of  this  group  belonged  to  one  household,  the 
head  of  which  was  the  son  of  the  late  Nan  Inta,  the 
first  convert. 

By  this  time  we  see  that  the  mission  v/as  firmly 
established  and  had  begun  to  expand  into  the  prov- 
inces contiguous  to  Chieng  Mai.  More  laborers 
were  needed,  not  only  to  occupy  new  stations,  but 
to  take  charge  of  various  forms  of  mission  work 
which  was  necessary  if  the  mission  was  to  make 
the  native  church  self-supporting.  The  majority  of 
these  new  missionaries  are  now  upon  the  field,  and 
we  shall  see  them  at  their  work  as  we  take  a  tour 
of  the  different  stations  of  the  mission. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

CHIENG   MAI,   THE   FAIR   CITY   OF   PALMS 

As  capital  of  the  Laos  provinces,  and  as  the  place 
where  the  entering  wedge  of  mission  work  was 
made,  Chieng  Mai  first  claims  our  attention.  The 
name  and  glory  of  this  capital  City  of  Palms  is  in- 
separably linked  with  that  of  Doi  Su  Tep.  This 
Doi  or  "mountain"  is  a  noble  peak.  It  rises  in 
solemn  and  lonely  grandeur  from  the  midst  of  the 
immense  fertile  plain  of  the  province  and  reaches  a 
towering  height.  Its  summit  has  never  been 
reached  to  my  knowledge  with  a  barometer,  but  it 
has  been  estimated  by  many  to  approximate  some 
six  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  This  is  based 
upon  the  actual  altitude  of  what  is  considered  a 
halfway  distance.  Its  crown  is  capped  by  a  wat 
covering  the  alleged  footprint  of  Buddha,  which 
has  been  referred  to ;  but  this  wat  is  only  as  a  speck 
upon  the  grand  pile  beneath  it,  an  infinitesimal  ef- 
fort of  man  compared  with  the  surrounding  handi- 
work of  God. 

From  a  distance  this  Doi  Su  Tep  apparently 
rises  from  the  very  brink  of  the  Me  Ping,  but  a 
nearer  view  shows  that  its  foot  is  some  four  or 
five  miles  back  from  the  water's  edge.  And  there,' 
seemingly  resting,  beneath  the  protection  of  this 
noble  mountain,  stretches  up  and  down  both  river 
banks,  the  fair  City  of  Palms.  But  before  we  enter 
292 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS 

its  gates  let  us  take  one  more  look  at  Doi  Su  Tep. 
Down  its  sides  rushes  many  a  bold  mountain 
stream,  plunging  here  and  there  over  large  bowl- 
ders, and  not  resting  until  the  plain  below  is  reached. 
The  water  from  one  of  these  streams  is  conveyed  by 
an  aqueduct  into  the  city.  Stretched  along  the 
gentle  slopes  of  the  mountain  are  to  be  found  in 
great  numbers  fragrant  tea  gardens  and  beside 
them  the  hamlets  of  the  gardeners.  These  gar- 
dens are  midway  between  the  base  and  summit, 
running  in  altitude  from  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred feet  to  four  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level. 
Every  four  months,  during  the  gathering  seasons, 
people  in  large  companies  can  be  seen  climbing  the 
mountain  sides  to  the  tea  gardens.  Some  of  them 
have  money,  others  barter  goods,  and  still  others 
are  empty-handed.  These  last  named  gather  the 
leaves  on  shares.  It  will  be  remembered  that  these 
leaves  are  not  steeped  and  used  as  a  beverage, 
but  are  steamed  until  soft  and  then  put  in  the  mouth 
as  a  "chew."  These  tea  gardens  form  one  of  the 
most  important  industries  of  the  whole  country, 
and  the  villagers  are  a  simple,  interesting  people, 
presenting  a  most  attractive,  inviting  field  for  mis- 
sion labor.  As  yet  they  have  been  untouched  by 
mission  work,  excepting  by  Dr.  McGilvary  and  Mr. 
Campbell  and  family,  who  have  visited  them  a  time 
or  two.  This  is  another  living  illustration  that  "the 
field  is  white  to  the  harvest  and  the  laborers  are  too 
few." 

In  olden  times  Chieng  Mai  was  a  double-walled 
city,  built  upon  the  west  river  bank,  but  like  Bang- 


2Q4  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

kok  it  has  outgrown  its  bounds,  and  the  days  of 
peace  allow  the  people  to  settle  without  the  protect- 
ing walls.  It  lies  about  one  thousand  feet  above 
the  sea  level,  but  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the 
exact  population  of  the  place,  for  there  has  been 
no  method  of  accurately  obtaining  a  census.  It  is 
generally  conceded  that  about  twenty  thousand 
souls  are  within  the  city  walls,  but  including  the 
overflow  surrounding  the  walls  and  stretching  up 
and  down  the  opposite  bank,  the  number  reaches 
one  hundred  thousand.  The  city  is  the  third 
largest  in  the  kingdom  of  Siam.  Its  streets  are 
wide  and  so  well  kept  that  the  city  is  easily  known 
as  the  trimmest,  best  kept  in  the  kingdom.  The 
drives  are  picturesque,  especially  the  one  that, 
leading  out  through  the  White  Elephant  Gate, 
swings  around  the  old  city  wall.  This  wall  is  still 
in  good  condition  but  is  artistically  vine-covered 
and  draped.  It  rises  bold  and  imposing,  twenty- 
two  feet  high,  from  the  side  of  the  thirty-foot  moat 
upon  whose  quiet  waters  bloom  thousands  of  water 
lilies  and  of  the  sacred  lotus.  This  road  gives  a 
glorious  view  of  Doi  Su  Tep,  as  it  apparently  rises 
just  beyond  reach  across  the  rice  plains.  The  pal- 
ace and  various  official  buildings  are  worthy  of  a 
visit  if  one  is  looking  for  uniqueness  and  not  for 
architectural  splendor.  The  wats  and  prachedls 
of  the  city  are  among  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
whole  country. 

It  would  hardly  be  fair  to  speak  of  Chieng  Mai 
and  not  record  one  of  the  standing  jokes  of  the 
place  which  has  to  do  with  white  elephants.  The 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS 

joke,  however,  is  with  the  foreigners,  for  to  the 
natives  all  associations  with  white  elephants  are 
sacred.  New  arrivals  are  invariably  asked  if  they 
saw  the  white  elephants  in  Bangkok.  Usually  the 
reply  is  "No."  "Then  you  would  be  interested  to 
see  the  white  elephants  of  this  capital  city?"  Of 
course,  the  stranger  desires  to  see  them,  though  he 
is  surprised  to  hear  that  there  are  white  elephants 
in  Chieng  Mai,  and  mentally  he  marks  that  he  has 
many  things  to  learn  about  this  new  land  and  city. 
And  so  at  the  earliest  opportunity  the  party  starts 
off  to  view  the  beasts,  all  the  while  the  stranger  in 
a  state  of  pleasant  anticipation.  Out  through  the 
White  Elephant  Gate  they  go  and  over  a  bare  strip 
of  country  for  a  full  quarter  of  a  mile  toward  a 
group  of  trees  under  which  are  visible  white  arched 
buildings — the  stables!  Expectancy  is  at  its  height, 
for  the  road  provokingly  leads  up  to  the  rear  of  the 
stables,  and  will  not  reveal  even  a  peep  at  the  crea- 
tures. When  at  last  a  bend  turns  the  group,  and 
faces  them  to  the  stables,  expectation  sinks  to 
chagrin,  for  behold!  two  large,  white,  plaster  ele- 
phants staring  out  knowingly  with  their  little  eyes. 
These  effigies  were  erected,  along  with  some 
others,  away  back  in  1799  as  a  protection  to  the 
city. 

The  mission  compounds  are  all  upon  the  river 
banks,  the  one  farthest  upstream  being  that  of 
the  boys'  high  school  and  the  mission  press,  the 
former  under  charge  of  Mr.  Harris,  the  latter  of 
Mr.  Collins.  Because  of  Chieng  Mai's  strategic 
importance  as  the  capital  it  is  expedient  that  all  the 


296  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

mission  institutions  be  located  there,  such  as  the 
press,  and  the  normal,  theological  and  training 
schools. 

It  is  impossible  to  magnify  the  importance  ot  this 
mission  press.  It  has  all  grown  from  the  little 
lithograph  press  brought  out  in  1871,  but  until  Mr. 
Collins  took  charge  of  the  work  in  1886  it  had 
necessarily  been  restricted  in  its  field  of  usefulness 
for  lack  of  a  man  to  give  time  to  the  work.  The 
mission  was  Providentially  led  in  assigning  Mr. 
Collins  to  this  special  work,  for  he  has  developed 
rare  abilities  and  talents  for  the  work.  He  took 
what  raw  material  he  found,  made  the  best  of  it, 
and  by  patience  he  has  trained  a  dozen  young  men 
to  assist  him,  and  what  is  more  marvelous,  has 
trained  them  to  work  on  time.  At  the  tap  of  the 
bell  they  enter  the  simple,  modest  building  termed 
the  press  room,  and  there  they  work  happily  and 
with  the  best  of  spirits  until  the  tap  of  bell  at  noon 
time,  when  they  stop  for  dinner,  to  resume  work 
upon  the  stroke  of  the  bell.  This  is  exceedingly 
significant,  for  it  shows  what  can  be  done  with  the 
easy-going  Asiatic — who  hates  routine  more  than 
he  fears  the  dreaded  tever — by  persistent,  careful 
training  upon  a  Christian  foundation. 

The  press  now  embraces  two  fonts  of  Siamese 
and  two  of  Laos  type  and  two  of  English,  yet  it  is 
inadequate  to  the  demands.  During  the  past  year 
a  total  of  two  and  a  half  million  pages  has  been  is- 
sued. It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Laos  have 
no  printed  literature,  and  this  press  is  supplying 
this  great  need  by  pouring  out  into  the  homes  and 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  2Q? 

villages  the  best  of  all  literature.  Besides  the  por- 
tions of  the  Bible  that  have  been  translated,  and 
catechisms  and  tracts,  the  press  prints  school  text- 
books and  other  works  written  to  meet  the  peculiar 
needs  and  problems  of  this  people.  A  good  book 
for  America  is  not  always  a  good  book  for  the 
Laos;  and  so  the  missionaries  have  striven  to  see 
with  the  native  eye,  feel  with  the  native  heart,  and 
to  write  or  translate  books  accordingly.  Contact 
with  the  missionaries  has  developed  in  this  people 
a  taste  for  reading.  And  so  we  find  these  inde- 
fatigable workers  in  Laos-land  striving  to  give 
books  to  the  people  that  will  be  helpful  and  uplift- 
ing, that  will  interest  the  growing  church  in  Chris- 
tian life  and  work  at  large,  that  will  give  Sunday 
reading  for  Christian  Endeavorers  and  Sunday- 
school  scholars,  reference  books  for  students,  and 
wholesome  reading  for  those  who  are  still  groping 
in  darkness;  that  perchance  some  may  be  inter- 
ested and  led  to  Christ.  The  Laos  Mission  wishes 
to  keep  out  of  the  land  all  harmful  books,  or  if 
such  books  must  come  they  wish  to  be  at  least  fore- 
armed. At  present  this  is  an  easy  matter,  for  this 
mission  press  is  the  only  press  in  the  land.  To 
hold  this  monopoly  of  all  printed  matter  the  press 
annually  does  a  large  amount  of  job  work  for  the 
local  government,  both  in  Laos  and  Siamese  char- 
acters. The  monthly  sheet,  containing  the  Sun- 
day-school and  Christian  Endeavor  lessons,  has  its 
first  page  devoted  to  church  news.  It  is  the  fond 
hope  of  the  mission  soon  to  have  this  paper  de- 
veloped into  a  good  religious  newspaper.  At  pres- 


298  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

ent  the  force  is  too  weak  to  undertake  the  work, 
vital  and  important  as  it  is. 

This  press  is  what  is  known  in  mission  parlance 
as  self-supporting,  though  it  originally  had  to  be 
supported  by  funds  from  the  Board.  The  work  of 
translating  has  been  carried  on  in  the  midst  of 
pressing,  distracting,  multifarious  duties  by  differ- 
ent members  of  the  mission.  The  translators  can- 
not shut  themselves  into  their  studies  and  labor 
but  the  work  has  to  be  done  with  the  door  opened 
and  the  pen  ready  to  be  laid  aside  at  a  moment's 
warning.  In  late  years  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Lakawn 
station,  has  devoted  his  life  to  translating,  and  has 
given  to  the  church  a  full  collection  of  hymns.  This 
volume  of  the  hymns  of  ages  of  church  history,  if 
it  could  be  separated  from  the  rest  of  Dr.  Wilson's 
life  and  labors  for  Laos,  would  alone  stand  as  a 
lasting  monument  to  his  name. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  river,  but  farther  down 
the  bank,  is  the  medical  compound.  Here  is  lo- 
cated, besides  the  residence,  the  dispensary  and 
hospital.  This  work  began  with  Dr.  McGilvary's 
hiring  men  to  take  quinine;  and  now  the  dispen- 
sary's receipts  reach  six  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  gold  annually.  Since  1889  the  work  has 
been  under  the  care  of  Dr.  McKean.  He  stands 
on  the  mission  field  to-day  as  a  type  of  the  ideal 
medical  missionary — Heal  the  sick — preach  the 
gospel.  With  him  the  command  is  inseparably 
one.  He  has  trained  with  patience  and  skill  two 
efficient  assistants,  and  a  good  nurse  to  assist  him 
in  his  arduous  labors.  Thousands  of  patients  an- 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  299 

nually  receive  treatment  at  the  hands  of  this  physi- 
cian and  scores  come  to  him  with  serious  troubles 
needing  surgical  treatment. 

Until  the  last  year,  also,  all  the  medicines,  other 
than  the  tooth,  blood,  and  gall  kind  of  the  native 
doctors,  used  in  this  immense  city  were  dispensed 
from  this  building.  Now  enterprising  Chinamen 
have  stocked  their  stalls  with  quinine  and  standard 
medicines,  which  meet  with  a  ready  sale.  But  so 
great  is  the  demand  that  the  dispensary  is  strained 
to  its  utmost  to  meet  the  heavy  claims  upon  it. 
All  day  long  we  find  Europeans,  Siamese,  Chinese, 
Burmese,  the  Hill  Tribes,  Ka  Mus,  and  others,  be- 
sides the  Laos,  coming  to  its  gates  and  climbing  up 
the  sweeping  flight  of  stairs  leading  to  the  dispen- 
sary room.  There  one  sees  as  to  neatness  and  at- 
tractiveness a  modern  American  drug  store,  at- 
tended by  two  courteous,  fine-looking  young  Chris- 
tian men,  who  serve  one  with  ease  and  skill  and 
with  a  gentleness  and  kindliness  born  of  their 
Christian  faith.  To  the  poor,  medicines  are  given, 
but  those  who  are  able  pay  for  what  they  receive. 
There  are  texts  of  Scripture  upon  the  wall  to  arrest 
the  eye  and  claim  the  thoughts.  In  the  packages 
of  medicine  a  page  of  Scripture  or  a  hymn  is  slipped 
and  always  there  is  some  one  to  point  the  way  to  the 
Great  Physician  to  those  who  will  remain.  Daily 
services  are  held  in  the  hospital,  and  at  night  an 
evening  school  is  taught  for  half  an  hour  before 
the  prayer  service. 

Besides  Dr.  McKean's  regular  medical  work  he 
has  established  a  most  interesting  work  among  a 


30O  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

village  of  lepers.  Just  below  this  City  of  Palms 
is  a  settlement  of  these  poor,  loathsome  unfortun- 
ates, where  all  the  city  lepers  are  banished  as  soon 
as  their  disease  becomes  manifest.  Dr.  McKean 
has  done  much  to  alleviate  their  physical  sufferings, 
and  many  of  their  souls  have  been  touched  by  the 
Master's  hand.  These  have  been  received  into  the 
communion  of  the  Chieng  Mai  Church,  though  they 
are  debarred  from  attending  worship  at  the  church 
building.  Services  are  held  in  their  village,  certain 
precautions  being  observed  as  to  contact  with  the 
disease.  Another  work  carried  on  by  Dr.  Mc- 
Kean is  among  the  men,  women,  and  children,  who 
compose  the  chain  gang,  the  criminal  class.  This 
class  is  used  by  the  government  to  work  the  roads 
and  do  other  public  service.  Dr.  McKean  visits 
them  in  prison  and  ministers  to  them  body  and 
soul. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  power  for  good 
of  the  medical  work,  for  there  is  no  way  of  reckon- 
ing the  conversions  resulting  therefrom.  Certain 
it  is  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  agencies  in 
planting  the  gospel  in  the  Laos  country,  for  it 
breaks  down  the  universal  belief  in  spirits.  The 
Laos  Mission  is  not  conducted  narrowly.  It  is  as 
broad  as  Christianity,  its  policy  being  to  present 
the  gospel  to  every  man,  and  to  secure  to  all  its 
privileges  and  blessings. 

Combined  with  the  mission's  belief  in  the  union 
of  the  evangelistic  and  philanthropic,  is  its  stead- 
fast purpose  to  establish  a  self-supporting,  self- 
propagating  native  church.  The  hope  of  the 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  30! 

heathen  world  is  through  the  native  converts,  even 
more  than  the  missionaries.  The  latter  can  only 
establish;  the  former  must  carry  to  completion. 
To  do  this  the  mission  must  have  schools;  and  so 
we  find  in  every  station  schools,  and  in  this  capital 
city,  high  schools.  From  deference  to  native  cus- 
tom there  is  no  coeducation.  The  boys'  school 
is  upon  the  press  compound,  and  the  girls' 
school  is  on  the  opposite  bank  and  at  the  southern 
border  of  the  city,  under  charge  of  Miss  Griffin  and 
Miss  M.  A.  McGilvary.  These  schools  both  have 
normal  courses,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  the  mission 
to  draw  graduates  from  the  schools  of  other  sta- 
tions to  these  normal  courses,  and  to  send  out  to 
the  cities  and  villages  teachers  who  can  take  com- 
petent charge  of  mission  schools  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  missionary.  These  normal  courses 
have  only  been  recently  established. 

A  recent  advanced  step  of  the  mission  has  been 
the  establishing  of  parochial  schools  in  connection 
with  each  station's  work.  Those  of  Chieng  Mai 
are  especially  encouraging,  as  the  church  here  is 
an  older  growth.  "Organized  on  a  self-supporting 
basis,  buying  their  own  supplies,  collecting  their 
own  fees,  paying  their  own  teachers,  and  quite  in- 
dependent, except  for  oversight,  they  approach  the 
ideal  toward  which  the  mission  is  laboring." 

The  theological  school  has  graduated  several 
native  ministers.  There  are  no  buildings  for  this 
school.  When  there  are  candidates  to  be  educated, 
a  room  is  obtained  somewhere,  and  the  work  is 
begun.  The  student  must  master  the  Siamese  Ian- 


302  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

guage;  for  while  only  a  few  books  of  the  Bible  are 
translated  into  Laos,  the  complete  Bible  is  printed 
in  Siamese,  and  there  are  also  several  invaluable 
aids  that  have  been  translated  into  the  Siamese  and 
not  into  the  Laos  vernacular.  This  school  is  prac- 
tical in  its  plan  of  work.  The  students  are  sent 
out  on  Saturday  afternoons  into  the  surrounding 
villages  to  spend  the  Sabbath  holding  services  and 
teaching  the  people.  On  Monday  they  return  and 
on  Tuesday  give  an  account  of  their  tour.  Thus 
they  are  guided  and  trained,  and  when  they  finally 
are  graduated,  they  are  humble,  able,  capable  serv- 
ants of  God.  When  there  is  no  theological  school, 
a  training  school  for  Christian  workers  is  held. 
This  is  a  thoroughly  unique  school,  and  it  is  due  to 
Mr.  Campbell's  ability  and  zeal  that  it  has  become 
such  a  factor  in  the  station's  work.  The  students 
are  from  widely  scattered  churches.  With  Mr. 
Campbell  they  go  out  into  the  villages  and  camp, 
remaining  several  weeks  in  a  place,  and  drawing 
additional  students  for  the  time  from  the  local 
church.  As  they  study  and  recite,  there  gathers 
around  the  camp  a  number  of  villagers,  who  can 
sit  and  listen  or  ask  questions,  which  the  students 
answer  if  they  are  able.  Evangelistic  services  are 
held,  and  during  the  day,  time  is  found  to  visit  in 
the  houses  of  the  place.  This  plan,  as  has  been 
proved,  works  admirably  well  among  the  Laos. 
The  "thinking"  factor  is  a  stupendous  one  in  the 
mission,  and  it  has  been  found  that  the  students 
are  aroused  to  thought  by  this  method.  The  lim- 
ited number  of  reference  or  text-books  makes  it 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  303 

an  easy  task  to  carry  everything  needed  for  the 
work.  When  the  rains  commence,  the  school  re- 
turns to  the  city,  and  Dr.  McGilvary  and  Dr. 
McKean  assist  by  giving  several  hours  a  week  to 
the  work. 

Just  a  little  below  the  medical  compound  is  the 
bridge  that  spans  the  wide  sweep  of  the  Me  Ping. 
This  bridge  was  built  by  European  skill,  employed 
with  Laos  gold.  It  is  a  good,  solid  structure,  and 
across  it  pours  two  steady  streams  in  opposite  di- 
rections. Ponies  canter  across  beneath  their 
smartly-dressed  riders;  jinrikishas  roll  along  occa- 
sionally, and  English  victorias  can  be  seen  in  the 
cool  of  the  day,  when  the  chaus  go  forth  for  fresh 
air;  and  always  there  are  innumerable  passers-by 
on  foot.  A  little  below  this  bridge  are  located  the 
large  southern  compounds  of  the  station.  They 
comprise  the  church  building,  the  girls'  school, 
Dr.  McGilvary's  home  and  another  residence 
which  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Campbell  and 
family. 

Dr.  McGilvary  has  lived  on  this  compound  ever 
since  moving  from  the  sala,  though  not  always  in 
the  present  house.  Their  home  is  built  after  the 
Indian  bungalow  style,  and  is  pleasantly  sur- 
rounded by  a  rose  garden  and  a  luxuriant  orchard 
and  fruit  grove.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the 
power  of  a  Christian  home  in  a  heathen  land.  This 
one  has  ever  stood  for  all  that  makes  a  Christian 
home  the  ideal  home  of  the  wide  world.  Its  tidy 
look,  its  fragrant  flowers  and  vines,  its  gardens  and 
fruit  trees,  have  all  preached  more  eloquently  than 


304  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

words  that  the  Christian  religion  is  meant  for  life 
as  well  as  death.  Though  Dr.  McGilvary  has  al- 
ways had  his  home  in  this  city,  he  has  spent  only 
a  part  of  his  time  there.  Like  Paul  he  has  felt 
the  Spirit  calling  to  regions  beyond,  and  like  him 
also,  his  tours  can  be  traced  by  little  streams  of 
light  shed  forth  from  Christian  homes  along  the 
way. 

Though  over  seventy  years  of  age  Dr.  McGil- 
vary is  still  erect  and  is  in  possession  of  almost  his 
full  strength  of  young  manhood.  He  is  lovingly 
termed  by  his  young  associates  in  the  field  as  "the 
youngest  old  boy  in  the  mission." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  1872  Dr.  McGil- 
vary, in  company  with  Dr.  Vrooman,  pushed  across 
the  Me  Kawng  into  the  Laung  Prabang  province. 
In  1897  he  again  made  a  tour  into  the  province, 
and  began  a  work  there  among  the  Ka  Mus  which 
has  already  borne  fruit.  The  Ka  Mus  are  a  moun- 
tain people,  settled  in  the  Muang  Sai  and  surround- 
ing districts  of  the  province.  They  speak  a  lan- 
guage differing  from  the  Laos,  and  are  a  simple 
pastoral  people.  It  takes  twenty-five  days  of 
steady  travel  to  reach  this  people  from  Chieng  Mai. 
Though  they  speak  a  language  of  their  own,  many 
of  them  understand  Laos.  They  have  never  been 
converted  to  Buddhism,  and  are  spirit-worshipers, 
pure  and  simple.  They  have  no  written  language, 
but  show  a  readiness  and  desire  to  learn  the  writ- 
ten characters  of  the  Laos.  Just  where  ethonolo- 
gists  would  place  this  people  I  do  not  know.  How- 
ever, it  is  certainly  known  that  they  are  renowned 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  305 

for  their  honesty  and  simplicity  of  life,  and  so  must 
be  sprung  of  good  stock. 

So  impressed  was  Dr.  McGilvary  with  the  re- 
ceptivity of  this  people  that  in  1898  he  spent  sev- 
eral months  there.  Among  this  people,  far  away 
from  his  beloved  family  circle,  on  March  16,  he 
passed  the  anniversary  of  his  three  score  years  and 
ten.  On  the  journey  he  met  with  adventures  and 
dangers  such  as  always  face  him  in  cutting  through 
Laos  jungle  wilds.  In  speaking  of  the  roads,  he 
remarks  in  a  report  of  the  tour:  "Beneath,  water 
and  mud,  brooks,  rivers  and  ponds;  above,  forcing 
our  way  through  the  tall  grass  and  undergrowth 
and  after  a  night's  rain  nearly  equal  the  swimming 
of  a  river,  so  that  for  nearly  twenty-six  traveling 
days,  dry  feet  and  limbs  were  almost  unknown  till 
night.  Ten  times  I  swam  my  pony  across  water 
courses.  Once  the  current  carried  us  down  the 
stream  so  far  that  with  difficulty  we  made  the 
landing  on  the  opposite  bank — somewhat  exciting, 
as  I  had  never  learned  to  swim." 

When  he  finally  stood  among  this  Ka  Mu  peo- 
ple he  found  a  man  who  had  learned  to  read  previ- 
ously and  with  whom  he  had  left  books  the  year 
before,  who  welcomed  him  by  saying:  "I  have  read 
these  books.  They  are  true,  indeed.  I  worship 
Jesus  daily."  He  urged  Dr.  McGilvary  to  remain 
and  teach  his  own  people.  This  he  did,  the  man 
acting  as  interpreter.  He  visited  all  the  surround- 
ing villages,  including  the  one  where  resided  the 
head  man  of  the  group  of  ten  villages.  This  work 
culminated  in  the  head  man  and  his  whole  village 

20 


306  THE  LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

renouncing  their  spirit-worship  and  sitting  down 
with  Dr.  McGilvary  on  the  following  Sabbath  to 
learn  how  to  keep  the  day  holy.  From  morn  till 
night  they  studied,  beginning  in  the  child's  cate- 
chism with  the  question:  "Who  made  you?" 

And  now  Dr.  McGilvary  was  faced  with  a  per- 
plexing question:  What  was  to  be  done  with  these 
people?  Could  he  return  home  and  leave  them  as 
sheep  without  a  shepherd?  Many  months  would 
be  needed  to  teach  and  indoctrinate  them  before 
they  could  become  intelligent  Christians.  He  de- 
termined to  remain  throughout  the  season,  and  so 
sent  back  carriers  to  Chieng  Mai  with  the  tidings 
of  his  change  of  plans  and  with  orders  for  new 
supplies  and  more  books.  He  then  left  the  Ka 
Mu  hill  country,  and  turning  his  face  toward  the 
capital  city  of  Laung  Prabang  he  sought  the 
French  governor  and  the  native  viceroy  to  obtain 
their  permission  to  remain  and  labor  among  the 
Ka  Mus  for  the  season.  This  they  refused  to  do, 
ostensibly  because  of  concern  lest  the  season  prove 
too  severe  for  the  health  of  Dr.  McGilvary.  His 
disappointment  was  unbounded  at  this  turn  of  af- 
fairs. He  retraced  his  steps  back  to  the  Ka  Mu 
villages  and  spent  ten  more  days  teaching  the  peo- 
ple to  sing  a  few  hymns  and  starting  the  young 
people  to  learn  to  read. 

He  then  dropped  back  to  Muang  Sai,  where  he 
expected  his  carriers  to  meet  him  on  their  return 
from  Chieng  Mai.  For  two  weeks  he  waited  there, 
the  suspense  caused  by  his  carriers'  failure  to  re- 
turn, together  with  the  apparent  failure  in  the  plan 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  307 

he  had  made  for  work  among  the  Ka  Mus,  all  but 
making  the  days  unendurable. 

A  stone's  throw  from  the  town  rises  a  hill,  at  that 
time  crowned  with  a  cluster  of  trees,  which  affords 
a  quiet  retreat  for  one  who  wishes  to  be  alone. 
After  the  first  ten  days  of  waiting  had  passed,  Dr. 
McGilvary  took  his  Bible,  and  sitting  on  the  limb 
of  a  low  tree,  spent  two  mornings  there  from  break- 
fast till  noon,  committing  the  Ka  Mu  people  and 
the  whole  situation  unto  Him  who  had  so  clearly 
led  him  there  and  placed  him  in  just  that  perplex- 
ing position.  On  the  second  day  in  that  solitude 
the  burden  was  lifted.  So  marked  and  unmistak- 
able was  the  peace  that  came  with  the  triumph  of 
faith  that  he  cut  into  the  limb  of  the  tree  where 
he  sat,  "June  26,  P.  H.  and  P.  A." — prayer  heard 
and  prayer  answered. 

In  two  days  more  the  carriers  arrived  and  with 
them  came  two  Christians  who  had  come  to  assist 
him  during  the  season.  His  joy  was  unbounded. 
The  French  officials  had  said  nothing  against 
natives  remaining,  and  so  it  was  arranged  for  these 
two  men  to  stay  and  instruct  the  Ka  Mu  villages 
then  interested,  returning  to  Chieng  Mai  in  No- 
vember. 

November  came  and  passed,  and  the  two  men 
had  not  returned.  Faith  was  again  tested.  Were 
they  ill?  Had  the  rulers  interfered?  But  on  the 
loth  of  December, in  the  early  morning  they  walked 
into  the  compound  with  faces  aglow  with  gladness. 
They  had  only  good  news  to  tell.  Many  of  the 
Ka  Mus  were  ready  for  baptism,  and  many  more 


308  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

were  studying.  They  bore  letters  written  by  the 
men  and  women  they  had  taught,  begging  the  mis- 
sion to  send  them  teachers  at  once.  "The  tree 
as  well  as  Jacob's  stones  had  been  a  witness." 

At  the  next  meeting  of  presbytery  the  Laos 
church  took  charge  of  this  work  among  the  Ka 
Mus.  One  of  their  ministers  volunteered  to  go  to 
them  as  a  missionary  and  the  church  gladly 
assumed  all  necessary  expenses.  Thus  was  estab- 
lished the  first  regularly  organized  foreign  mission- 
ary work  of  the  native  Laos  church. 

Below  Dr.  McGilvary's  home  stands  the  church, 
which  is  the  mother  of  the  sixteen  churches  dotted 
over  Laos-land  to-day.  Its  membership  is  nearly 
nine  hundred,  scattered  through  the  city  and  into 
surrounding  villages.  The  oversight  of  this  widely- 
scattered  church  is  an  immense  work,  and  could 
easily  take  the  whole  time  of  one  missionary.  The 
church  is  well  organized,  having  midweek  prayer 
meetings,  a  Sabbath  school,  Senior  and  Junior  So- 
cieties of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  a  Woman's 
Foreign  Missionary  Society.  All  of  these  branches 
do  excellent  work,  and  under  the  guiding  hand  of 
the  missionaries  are  slowly  but  surely  developing 
so  as  soon  to  make  the  church  not  only  self-sup- 
porting, as  it  already  is,  but  self-sustaining.  This  is 
a  difficult  thing  to  do  when  the  needs  are  so  press- 
ing, the  work  so  arduous,  the  evangelistic  work 
so  inviting,  so  fruitful.  But  these  missionaries 
study  as  one  of  their  text-books  of  mission  meth- 
ods the  gospels  and  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and 
they  see  there  how  the  Master  spent  much  time 


CHIENG  MAI,   CITY  OF  PALMS  309 

with  the  twelve,  teaching,  guiding,  laying  founda- 
tions upon  which  they  should  afterwards  build. 
And  they  read  also  how  Paul  and  Peter  gave  time 
to  the  building  up  of  the  churches,  the  edifying  of 
its  members. 

Before  leaving  this  church,  let  us  take  one  back- 
ward glance  to  the  early  days  of  the  persecution. 
At  that  time  Dr.  Wilson  wrote:  "We  had  looked 
forward  to  the  privilege  of  organizing  a  church  at 
no  distant  day  in  that  country  village  with  Noi 
Su  Ya  as  one  of  its  standard  bearers.  But  the 
club  and  the  spear  have  ended  his  life  and  his  spirit 
has  joined  the  church  of  the  First-born.  We  miss 
his  smiling  face  and  happy  expression  and  child- 
like trust  in  God.  But  while  waiting  we  know  that 
some  day  a  church  will  be  planted  in  that  village  of 
the  martyrs,  and  as  it  grows  their  names  will  be 
held  in  lasting  remembrance."  God  has  abun- 
dantly fulfilled  this  prophecy.  At  that  village  the 
little  church  of  Me  Pu  Ka  numbers  eighty-five 
souls,  and  in  the  Laos  church  at  large  there  are 
upwards  of  three  score  full  communicants  de- 
scended from  one  of  the  martyrs. 

Though  there  are  several  mission  families  in  this 
station  one  never  finds  two  of  the  men  in  the 
church  building  on  Sabbath  unless  it  be  for  some 
special  occasion.  Sunday  sees  them  in  the  out 
villages  all  holding  services  at  different  places. 

Chieng  Mai  is  the  keynote  for  the  other  four 
stations  of  the  mission;  yet  it  is  not  the  mission,  and 
we  must  press  on  to  the  other  stations  if  we  would 
see  more  of  the  modern  miracles  that  God  has 


3IO  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

wrought  through  his  servants  there.  But  before 
we  go  let  us  glance  once  more  above  the  city  to 
Doi  Su  Tep.  There  thirteen  hundred  feet  above 
the  plain  are  nestled  beside  a  roaring  brook  several 
small  cottages  built  of  teak  and  thatch.  These 
houses  go  by  the  name  of  the  Chieng  Mai  Sani- 
tarium. There  during  the  intense  heat  at  the  close 
of  the  dry  season  the  missionaries  sometimes  go  for 
a  few  weeks  of  change  and  cooler  air.  They  use 
the  golden  hours  for  language  and  Bible  study,  for 
no  matter  how  long  a  man  has  been  upon  the  field 
he  feels  that  he  still  has  need  for  language  study. 
From  that  vantage  point  looking  down  upon  the 
city  one  can  readily  see  why  we  should  call  Chieng 
Mai  the  City  of  Palms.  As  the  winds  play  with 
the  palm  leaves,  the  sound  harmonizes  with  the 
soft  melody  of  monastery  bells.  May  the  day 
speedily  come  when  the  monastery  bell  will  be  re- 
placed by  the  full,  tuneful  tone  of  church  tower 
chimes. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

LAKAWN,  PRE,  NAN,  AND  CHIENG  RAI 

IT  is  four  days'  travel  by  elephant  or  pony  or 
chair  from  Chieng  Mai  to  Lakawn,  though  the 
distance  is  only  about  sixty-five  miles.  The  first 
night  will  be  spent  at  Lampun,  which  is  already 
familiar  to  our  reader  as  a  sub-station  of  Chieng 
Mai.  The  mission  compound  here  is  a  little  re- 
moved from  the  river,  so  one  gets  a  more  liberal 
supply  of  native  smell  and  smoke,  which  latter  at 
the  evening  hour  is  all  but  suffocating.  It  is  a 
custom  of  all  Laos  people  to  sweep  their  yards 
at  sunset  and  burn  the  trash  piles;  hence  the  im- 
mense amount  of  smoke  referred  to.  However, 
that  is  but  a  small  thing  in  a  missionary's  life,  and 
so  we  would  say  that  the  mission  compound  in 
Lampun  is  pleasantly  located.  To  one  side  is  a 
chapel  and  dispensary.  This  chapel  is  unique  and 
splendidly  adapted  to  the  needs,  as  there  is  no  front 
wall  to  partition  the  chapel  and  the  veranda,  so 
wayfarers  often  slip  up  the  steps  and  sit  upon  the 
veranda  listening  throughout  the  entire  service. 
To  the  back  of  the  chapel  is  a  dispensary,  where 
presides  a  native  who  has  been  trained  by  the 
medical  missionary  in  Chieng  Mai.  Over  the  wide 
field  of  this  prosperous  city  of  Lampun  with  its 
strong  self-supporting  native  church,  is  the  gov- 
erning hand  of  one  missionary  and  his  wife,  the 

311 


312  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Freeman.  It  is  not  the  ruling 
policy  of  either  the  Board  or  mission  to  place  a 
single  family  in  a  station.  It  is  an  everyday  fallacy 
that  exists  among  the  laity  of  the  church  in  America 
to  think  that  a  missionary,  simply  because  he  is  a 
missionary,  is  far  above  the  consecrated  Christian 
worker  at  home.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  is  not 
different  from  his  brethren  in  America,  just  because 
he  works  among  the  heathen  nations.  True  it  is 
that  as  a  rule  missionaries  are  picked  men  and 
women  of  lofty  aim  and  purpose,  which  enables 
them  to  minimize  the  physical  and  material  and 
magnify  the  spiritual  and  eternal.  Yet  they  are 
human  and  so  need  mental  and  moral  influences 
to  sustain  them,  just  as  do  their  kindred  in  Christ 
at  home.  There  is  no  hardship  endured  by  mis- 
sionaries that  can  compare  with  the  unutterable 
loss  of  all  that  in  the  past  made  up  their  Christian 
experience.  No  gathering  of  saints  in  the  sanc- 
tuary; no  meeting  together  in  prayer;  no  wise,  dis- 
creet counsel  of  some  elderly  man  or  woman  of 
God;  no  uplifting  influences  that  our  Christian 
civilization  wields  upon  its  children;  no  heart-to- 
heart  sympathy,  such  as  comes  in  times  of  sorrow 
and  perplexity;  no  looking  up  to  scores  or  hun- 
dreds of  fellow-Christians  who  are  stronger  than 
himself.  As  Drummond  has  wisely  said:  "The 
saddest  thing  about  a  missionary's  life  is  that  there 
is  no  one  beside  him  better  than  himself."  It  is 
true  that  the  missionary  has  the  abiding  presence 
of  Christ,  as  he  promised  when  he  said:  "Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,"  and  it  is  true  that  he  learns  to 


LAKAWN,   PRE,   NAN;  AND   CHIENG  RAI         313 

lean  heavily  upon  God  and  drink  more  deeply  of 
heavenly  waters,  yet  after  all  he  is  in  the  flesh, 
and  being  so,  he  needs  the  elbow  touch  of  brethren, 
and  for  reasons  manifold. 

One  should  not  point  to  our  great  pioneer  mis- 
sionaries, such  as  Judson,  Carey,  and  Dr.  McGil- 
vary,  and  claim  that  their  efforts  prove  the  con- 
trary. These  men  are  giants.  They  stand  as  did 
Saul  of  old,  head  and  shoulders  above  other  men. 
They  have  been  called  to  a  special  work  and  have 
been  given  powers  to  accomplish  that  work.  With 
the  rank  and  file  of  missionaries  it  is  different. 
They  need  mental  and  moral  sustenance.  To 
further  this,  a  comfortable  home  is  given  the  mis- 
sionary that  will  keep  out  the  heat  and  the  cold,  and 
where  he  can  put  up  his  book  shelves  and  hang 
upon  the  walls  his  Sistine  Madonna  and  Angelus. 
The  infancy  of  missions  has  passed,  and  experience 
has  proved  that  the  missionary  lives  longer,  has 
better  health,  with  fewer  furloughs,  and  is  enabled 
to  wield  a  stronger  arm  in  the  battle,  when  he  is 
put  in  a  home  and  given  coworkers.  In  keeping 
with  this  policy  strong  central  stations  is  the 
watchword.  In  these  stations  the  various  plants 
are  located,  theological  and  educative,  and  from 
them  radiate  over  the  entire  province  light  and  in- 
fluence. They  are  headquarters  for  the  missionary, 
and  from  thence  he  goes  forth  on  his  tours  of  weeks 
or  months  to  wage  the  battle.  The  station  of 
Chieng  Mai,  as  we  have  already  seen,  is  the 
strongest  in  the  mission.  Its  power  should  cover 
the  province.  But  so  thickly  settled  and  so  im- 


THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

portant  are  the  city  and  province  of  Lampun  that 
it  is  necessary  to  have  a  missionary  there  to  super- 
vise, and  so  we  find  it  a  sub-station.  The  mission 
family  there  is  in  a  way  sustained  by  the  station  at 
Chieng  Mai,  and  so  cannot  be  looked  upon  as 
isolated.  But  even  with  such  a  policy  as  the  one 
described,  it  is  necessary  at  times  for  a  single  fam- 
ily to  remain  alone  in  a  station  a  year  or  more,  or, 
as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Shields  in  Pre  in  1900,  for 
one  man  to  be  by  himself  for  a  whole  year.  These 
are  exceptions  born  of  dire  necessity. 

After  the  night's  rest  the  journey  must  be  pushed 
forward  before  the  morrow  finds  the  sun  peeping 
over  the  tree  tops.  The  night  will  come  when  the 
foot  of  the  mountains  is  reached  which  divides  the 
two  provinces.  There  in  the  little  village  of  Me 
Ta,  beside  the  murmuring  stream  of  the  same 
name,  the  night  will  be  passed.  The  mountains 
rise  about  the  village  like  a  towering  amphitheater. 
The  palm  trees  seem  to  be  craning  their  necks  in 
a  vain  effort  to  peep  over  them.  The  evening  calm 
will  be  broken  by  the  call  of  jungle  fowls,  the 
scream  of  peacocks,  or  the  wail  of  monkeys.  Nearer, 
the  clickety-click-tum  of  rice  pounders  at  work, 
mingled  with  the  beat  of  pestle  as  it  falls  in  the 
curry  mortar,  will  alternate  with  the  occasional 
trumpet  of  an  elephant  and  his  constant  "swish, 
swish"  as  he  beats  upon  his  leg  the  dust  from 
grass  he  is  cropping.  And  then  suddenly,  as  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  darkness  settles  down,  and  the 
liquid  stars  come  out  to  stand  guard  through  the 
night. 


LAKAWN,  PRE,  NAN,  AND  CHIENG  RAI        315 

There  is  a  large  sala  beside  the  river,  and  in  it 
the  night  will  be  passed;  and  lucky  indeed  will  be 
the  traveler  if  no  native  near  by  decides  to  roast 
red  pepper  for  the  morning  curry. 

The  next  day  will  be  passed  in  climbing  up  and 
over  the  mountain,  and  so  the  camp  is  astir  while 
it  is  yet  dark.  But  the  darkness  disappears  as  it 
came  upon  the  eve  before,  and  see — the  sun  breaks 
over  the  mountains! 

"...  He  strikes  the  great  gloom 

And  flutters  it  o'er  the  mount's  summit  in  airy  gold  fume. 
All  is  over," 

and  the  day's  climb  is  before  and  above.  After  a 
breakfast  which  has  been  cooked  over  the  camp 
fire,  the  baskets  are  packed  and  the  carriers  go  on 
ahead.  That  day  will  ever  live  fresh  and  green  in 
the  memory  of  one  who  has  traveled  those  moun- 
tain wilds.  Cool  recesses,  shady  glens,  bold  moun- 
tain passes,  gurgling  brooks,  and  rich  verdure 
above  and  below,  all  vie  with  each  other  and  chal- 
lenge the  world  to  show  a  more  beautiful  scene. 
Luncheon  will  be  eaten  at  a  halfway  distance  where 
an  overhanging  peak  affords  a  cool  shade  and  a 
brook  below  offers  an  abundance  of  refreshing 
water.  And  there  one  can  feast  upon  other  food 
than  that  which  is  for  the  physical  man.  When 
surrounded  with  such  visible  tokens  of  God's 
power  and  handiwork  one  realizes  that  life  "means 
intensely  and  means  good"  and  strength  is  given 
to  gird  up  the  loins  afresh  and  to  go  forward  with 
the  still  small  voice  within,  "Not  by  might  nor  by 
power,  but  by  my  Spirit." 


3l6  THE    LAOS    OF    NORTH    SIAM 

The  night  will  be  spent  in  a  sala  upon  the  other 
side  of  the  mountains  and  the  travelers  will  be 
weary,  indeed,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  climbing 
has  been  done  afoot.  It  was  at  this  camping 
ground  that  the  writer  of  these  pages  sat  spell- 
bound listening  to  the  most  thrilling,  inspiring 
words  she  had  ever  heard  from  man,  as  the  vener- 
able Dr.  McGilvary  told  her  the  story  of  the  Laos 
mission.  At  that  time  he  had  his  face  set  toward 
the  far-away  province,  Luang  Prabang.  And  as 
we  sat  there  in  the  afternoon  calm  he  seemed  to  be 
rilled  with  a  spirit  of  inspiration  as  he  touched 
upon  the  immensity  of  the  work  before  him,  and 
then  went  back  in  memory  to  the  sixties  and  told 
in  his  graphic  style  of  those  early  days;  and  as  he 
spoke  of  the  dangers,  struggles,  persecutions,  trials, 
and  finally  of  the  light  piercing  the  black  darkness 
and  the  triumphs  and  the  victories  won,  the  man 
vanished  before  me  and  I  saw  only  the  onward 
march  of  the  Cross  of  Jesus.  Dr.  McGilvary  was 
wholly  hid  behind  that  cross.  It  was  all,  "What 
God  hath  wrought,"  and  not  once,  "What  I  have 
done."  As  I  listened  my  heart  was  quickened  and 
my  pulse  thrilled,  and  I  thought  of  the  woman  at 
the  well  of  Samaria  hearing  those  words  of  life 
from  the  lips  of  the  Master,  and  within  me  came 
the  resolve  that  I,  too,  would  run  and  tell  all  the 
city.  This  book  is  one  of  the  ways  in  which  it  has 
been  done. 

Lakawn  will  be  reached  on  the  morrow  about 
noontime,  and  welcome  indeed  will  be  the  cool 
shade  of  the  mission  compound  after  the  ride 


LAKAWN,   PRE,   NAN,  AND   CHIENG   RAI         317 

across  the  bare  rice  plains  under  the  scorching  sun. 
The  two  mission  compounds  of  the  city  are  locally 
known  as  the  north  and  south  compounds,  re- 
spectively. The  latter  will  be  reached  first  and 
there  the  traveler  will  receive  a  right  royal  welcome 
into  the  ideal  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor. 
Adjoining  their  home  is  the  boys'  school  build- 
ing, and  immediately  beyond  is  another  mission 
house  built  by  Dr.  Peoples  before  he  went  to 
Nan  to  open  the  work  there,  and  since  then  oc- 
cupied, first  by  the  Curtis  and  then  by  the  Cal- 
lender  families.  Connected  with  the  boys'  school 
is  the  Industrial  Farm,  which  was  instituted  in 
1890.  This  farm,  for  several  reasons  has  never 
attained  the  end  in  view,  but  this  is  not  the  fault 
of  the  system,  nor  the  missionary  in  charge;  and 
some  day  in  the  near  future  a  live,  working  indus- 
trial farm  upon  the  south  compound  will  prove  this. 
There  are  problems  and  difficulties  in  mission 
work,  which  only  the  initiated  can  know.  This 
farm  project  has  been  beset  by  them.  But  already 
much  good  has  been  done  by  the  combination  of 
the  industrial  with  the  educative.  Many  boys  have 
been  trained  into  capable  carpenters,  and  many 
more  have  been  by  patience  and  perseverance 
taught  to  recognize  the  fact  that  manual  labor  is 
honorable.  The  Laos  share  the  deep-rooted  con- 
viction of  the  East,  that  labor  is  to  be  tabooed  by 
the  educated.  So  it  is  eminently  fitting  that  its 
mission  schools  should  teach  practically  to  the 
contrary. 

To  the  back  of  the  compound  stretches  the  rice 


3l8  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

plains  of  the  farm,  where  rice  for  the  school  is  raised. 
A  mile  up  the  river  is  the  north  compound,  where 
are  located  the  chapel,  dispensary,  hospital,  the 
girls'  school,  and  two  resident  compounds,  one  of 
which  contains  two  dwellings.  These  several  com- 
pounds are  all  embraced  under  the  one  head  "north 
compound." 

The  medical  work  here  is  under  the  care  of  Dr. 
Hansen,  and  is  conducted  in  a  similar  manner  to 
that  in  Chieng  Mai.  The  hospital  building  has 
been  recently  transformed  into  a  new  and  more 
commodious  building  by  a  memorial  fund  given 
for  the  purpose,  and  the  new  building  is  known 
by  the  name  of  the  Charles  T.  Van  Santvoord 
Hospital.  Would  that  we  had  more  such  fitting 
memorials  in  this  land  and  other  heathen  lands! 

The  girls'  school  is  a  growth,  as  is  all  the  edu- 
cational work  in  the  mission.  A  few  girls  were 
first  gathered  by  Miss  Fleeson  in  a  group  on  the 
veranda  and  taught,  until  the  number  grew  and 
the  work  proved  so  encouraging  that  the  station 
adopted  the  support  of  the  school.  Previously  all 
the  expenses  had  been  met  by  private  contributions. 
Miss  Fleeson,  assisted  by  Miss  Wilson,  has  gradu- 
ally developed  the  industrial  element  of  the  school 
until  it  is  now  decidedly  an  important  feature  of 
the  work.  The  girls  are  taught  to  spin  and  weave, 
to  cut  and  sew;  are  required  to  keep  their  dormi- 
tories in  perfect  order,  and  are  trained  to  know 
what  responsibility  means  in  the  way  of  hated 
routine  duties. 

On  one  of  these  compounds  lives  the  veteran, 


ONE  OF  THE  GIRLS. 


LAKAWN,  PRE,   NAN,  AND   CHIENG  RAI         319 

Dr.  Wilson,  now  alone,  as  recently  his  daughter, 
who  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  home  since  her 
mother's  death,  was  compelled  by  ill  health  to  come 
to  America.  Dr.  Wilson  came  to  Lakawn  two 
years  after  it  was  opened  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peoples 
in  1885,  and  here  has  lived  and  labored  since.  To 
one  side  of  his  compound  is  the  tiny  house  occu- 
pied by  his  niece,  Miss  Fleeson.  Beyond  this  are 
the  buildings  of  the  girls'  school,  and  then  comes 
the  residence  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hansen. 

The  church  in  Lakawn  has  just  attained  its  ma- 
jority, but  it  numbers  two  hundred  and  seventeen 
souls.  The  interesting  circumstances  connected 
with  its  first  member,  Praya  Si  Hanat,  will  be  re- 
called, also  the  fortitude  with  which  he  stood  his 
many  persecutions.  And  so  it  has  ever  been  with 
the  Lakawn  church;  for  it  has  suffered  many  things 
from  many  Herods  and,  too,  in  the  face  of  the 
proclamation  of  religious  liberty.  Many  of  these 
persecutions  have  resulted  in  the  furtherance  of 
the  work. 

So  bitterly  have  the  members  of  this  church 
themselves  suffered  in  various  petty  persecutions 
that  we  find  them  giving  of  their  poverty  seventy 
rupees  the  past  year  to  the  persecuted  Chinese 
Christians. 

Recently  radical  changes  have  taken  place  in  the 
government  of  the  province,  death  having  removed 
some  bitter  enemies  of  the  work.  At  present  the 
governor  is  one  of  the  most  liberal,  influential 
chiefs  of  the  whole  Laos  country,  and  the  Siamese 
commissioner  is  a  man  of  very  exceptionally  fine 


32O  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH   SIAM 

parts.  Better  government  exists,  and  there  are 
signs  to  make  the  toilers  believe  that  the  "night  is 
far  spent  and  the  day  is  at  hand." 

It  is  often  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  home  church 
to  know  how  the  married  women  of  the  mission 
engage  in  active  mission  work.  It  is  impossible 
to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  her  work  as  she 
is  thronged  with  duties,  complex  and  undefin- 
able.  As  a  wife  and  mother  and  housekeeper 
she  has  the  manifold  cares  that  come  to  every 
married  woman.  Besides  these  she  visits  in  the 
homes;  counsels  those  who  are  in  perplexity 
and  doubt;  lays  a  guiding  hand  upon  the  shoulder 
of  the  wanderer  from  the  narrow  way;  sits  beside 
the  sick;  accompanies  her  husband  on  long  tours, 
playing  the  little  organ  for  meetings,  making 
friends  with  the  reluctant  villagers,  and  always 
drawing  a  crowd  to  the  tent  by  her  presence  and 
the  presence  of  her  children.  Aside  from  these 
and  other  duties  the  wives  gather  heathen  women 
into  sewing  or  reading  classes,  where  they  teach 
them  both  arts.  The  end  in  view  is  to  bring  them 
to  a  knowledge  of  sin  and  their  need  of  the  Saviour. 
I  have  one  such  wife  in  mind  who  thus  brought 
into  the  church  several  scores  of  women  from 
heathen  families.  But,  perhaps,  greater  than  all 
these  is  the  unmeasurable  influence  for  good  which 
they  wield  by  establishing,  in  the  midst  of  their 
surroundings,  Christian  homes.  They  thus  set 
before  the  people  an  object  lesson  which  even  the 
dullest  can  comprehend.  The  Christian  home  is 
one  of  the  essential  factors  in  making  the  native 


LAKAWN,   PRE,   NAN,  AND   CHIENG   RAI         32! 

church  thoroughly  indigenous  and  of  a  healthy, 
normal  growth. 

In  1893,  Lakawn  and  Pre  provinces  were  visited 
by  a  severe  famine,  such  as  scourges  the  East  at 
times.  Even  the  seed  rice  was  consumed  for  food, 
and  a  person  was  fortunate,  indeed,  to  find  a  dried 
cocoanut  husk  upon  which  to  chew  for  a  meal. 
The  suffering  was  intense.  Relief  committees 
were  formed  by  the  missionaries  and  much  was 
done  to  alleviate  the  suffering.  This  relief  work 
carried  on  at  Pre  was  the  first  step  toward  estab- 
lishing a  station  there. 

Like  Chieng  Mai,  Lakawn  has  long  since  out- 
grown its  city  walls.  Until  recently  they  stood  in 
a  crumbling,  vine-covered  condition — only  a  sem- 
blance of  the  old  days  that  are  fast  passing  away. 
They  looked  down  in  sleepy  wonder  upon  the 
strange  scenes  they  viewed,  which  changes  have 
come  trooping  in  upon  the  heels  of  the  missionary, 
who  here,  as  elsewhere  in  the  East,  has  been  the 
advance  agent  of  trade.  A  "Columbia"  chainless 
bicycle  spins  by,  followed  by  a  "Sterling."  Upon 
each  sits  easily  the  form  of  some  enterprising 
chau.  From  the  bamboo  house,  just  under  the 
wall,  comes  the  hum  of  a  sewing  machine,  and  in 
the  yard  a  man  is  at  work  with  an  American-made 
plane  in  his  hand.  Up  and  down  beneath  its  heavy 
shade  walk  on  their  beat  Siamese  policemen,  clad 
in  kakhi.  No  wonder  that  the  old  wall  seemed  to 
sigh  so  heavily  that  it  crumbled. 

Eight  miles  to  the  east  of  Lakawn  rise  the  moun- 
tains that  must  be  crossed  to  reach  the  Pre  prov- 

21 


322  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

ince.  On  one  of  the  peaks  of  this  chain  is  located 
the  bamboo  cottage,  where  the  Lakawn  mission- 
aries sometimes  flee  in  the  hot  season  for  a  few 
weeks'  rest  in  the  cooler  air.  On  the  other  side 
of  the  range  stretches  the  Muang  Pre  province.  It 
is  four  or  five  days'  travel  from  Lakawn  to  Pre. 

There  is  but  one  mission  compound  in  Pre,  but 
it  embraces  two  residences,  a  chapel,  a  dispensary, 
and  a  hospital.  The  station  was  opened  in  1893  by 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Briggs,  who  were  soon  joined  by 
the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  F.  Shields.  They  came  di- 
rect from  America  to  the  station,  and  have  since 
been  a  constant  factor  in  the  station's  work.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Briggs  were  transferred  after  three  years, 
and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  took  their  place,  with 
Miss  Hatch  to  take  charge  of  the  educational  work. 
It  is  necessarily  so  that  the  history  of  all  mission 
stations,  as  to  personnel,  is  more  or  less  of  a  chang- 
ing nature.  Furloughs  must  be  taken,  and  yet 
the  work  of  the  missionaries  carried  on.  Mission- 
aries get  sick  at  times,  desperately  ill  now  and  then, 
but  their  work  must  go  on.  Some  one  man  must 
by  a  strenuous  effort  fill  in  the  gap,  and  yet  keep 
his  regular  duties.  Oftentimes  a  small  station  has 
to  be  temporarily  left  without  a  physician  that  he 
may  go  to  the  larger  one  in  its  hour  of  need.  The 
station  at  Pre  has  had  its  share  of  this  coming  and 
going  of  its  working  force.  One  whole  year  Mr. 
Shields  was  the  only  missionary  in  the  station.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Thomas  and  Miss  Hatch  were  home  on 
furlough.  Mrs.  Shields  had  been  driven  to 
America  by  threatened  loss  of  her  eyesight,  from 


LAKAWN,   PRE,  NAN,  AND   CHIENG  RAI         323 

a  tropical  eye  disease.  At  the  time  she  was  wholly 
blind,  and  it  was  necessary  for  a  young  native 
woman  to  accompany  her  home  to  care  for  her 
children  on  the  way. 

The  year  Mr.  Shields  was  alone  in  Pre,  he  car- 
ried on  the  whole  work  of  the  station,  medical, 
educational,  church,  evangelistic,  and  itinerating, 
and  with  such  success  that  every  branch,  save  the 
first  named,  grew  and  prospered.  He  was  able  to 
hold  the  medical  work  in  hand  but  not  push  it  for- 
ward. There  were  fifty  hospital  patients  during 
the  year  and  twelve  hundred  dispensary  patients, 
with  receipts  amounting  to  nearly  two  thousand 
rupees.  Work  such  as  this  no  man  can  long  main- 
tain single-handed. 

Beyond  Pre  to  the  northeast  lies  the  Miiang  Nan 
province,  which  borders  upon  the  newly-acquired 
territory  of  the  French.  There  are  very  marked 
signs  of  prosperity  in  this  province  and  the  rulers 
manifest  more  interest  in  the  welfare  of  their  peo- 
ple than  is  usual.  The  church  here  is  the  youngest 
in  the  mission,  though  the  station  at  Chieng  Rai 
has  been  organized  more  recently.  In  1894  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Peoples  turned  their  faces  toward  this 
far-away  city  and  province,  which  then  lay  un- 
touched by  Christianity  save  as  Dr.  McGilvary  had 
visited  it  on  some  of  his  tours.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peo- 
ples have  been  ably  reinforced  by  the  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  David  Park  and  by  the  Rev.  Robert  and  Mrs. 
Irwin,  M.  D.  As  yet  the  most  of  the  dwellings 
here  are  but  temporary,  being  native  houses  which 
offer  but  poor  protection  against  rain  and  damp 


324  THE   LAOS   OF   NORTH    SIAM 

and  a  multitude  of  ants,  scorpions,  centipedes,  and 
other  such  creatures.  But  these  things  they  count 
as  nought,  thinking  instead  of  the  more  than  three 
score  men  and  women  who  have  been  gathered 
into  the  church  there. 

Could  we  linger  longer  in  this  prosperous  con- 
servative city  of  Nan  we  would  see  that  the  work 
is  carried  on  there  along  lines  similar  to  what  we 
have  seen  in  the  older  stations.  The  mission  works 
as  an  organized  body,  keeping  certain  ultimate  ends 
in  view,  which  all  the  stations  push  toward. 

And  now  back  across  the  whole  country  must 
we  go  to  reach  our  most  northern  station,  that  of 
Chieng  Rai.  This  post  is  as  to  time  the  most  far 
removed  station  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The 
station  is  young,  having  been  organized  in  1897, 
but  the  church  there  is  much  older.  It  will  be  re- 
membered how  one  of  the  band  of  seven  who  com- 
posed the  first  church,  before  the  persecution,  was 
a  resident  of  this  place.  He  became  the  nucleus 
of  the  church  there  whose  history  as  to  things 
spiritual  reads  like  a  page  from  the  book  of  The 
Acts.  The  early  band  of  Christians  here  had  to 
look  to  Chieng  Mai  for  shepherding  when  Dr. 
McGilvary  could  be  spared  from  the  pressure  of 
work  there.  He  both  planted  and  watered,  looking 
to  God  for  the  increase  which  was  not  withheld. 

When  the  Dodd  and  Denman  families  occupied 
the  place  as  a  tentative  station  in  1897,  the  little 
church  there  began  to  go  on  to  perfection.  The 
post  has  now  been  made  a  regular  station  and  the 
work  is  multiplied  and  multiplying.  Chieng  Rai 


LAKAWN,  PRE,  NAN,  AND  CHIENG  RAI    325 

is,  as  to  coolness,  the  most  attractive  station  in  the 
mission.  It  also  occupies  a  place  of  strategic  im- 
portance, being  only  a  few  days'  travel  from  the 
interior  border  of  China,  and  also  being  within 
reach  of  tribes  which  skirt  the  hermit  nation  of 
Tibet.  One  of  these  tribes  goes  by  the  name  of 
Musii.  Originally  they  came  from  Tibet.  Many 
years  ago  Dr.  McGilvary  visited  them  and  bap- 
tized several.  Now  there  are  many  more  added 
to  the  band.  These  Musii  are  not  Shans,  and  speak 
a  different  language  from  the  Laos.  But  like  the 
Ka  Mu  people,  many  of  them  can  speak  the  Laos 
tongue. 

What  may  we  not  hope  for  Tibet  through  these 
Musii  if  we  only  meet  the  obligations  God  has 
placed  upon  us  by  these  open  doors!  Other  Musii 
villages  are  being  touched  by  this  Christian  one, 
and  many  seem  ready  to  cast  off  the  old  man,  and 
put  on  the  new  man,  Christ.  The  church  in 
America  should  remember  this  important  work 
among  the  Musii  along  with  that  of  full  as  much 
promise  among  the  Ka  Mus. 

Though  this  station  is  so  young  in  years,  it  is 
admirably  organized  in  all  of  its  departments. 
There  are  three  churches,  including  the  one  in  the 
city,  the  other  two  being  at  Chieng  Sen  and  Wieng 
Pa  Pau. 

These  are  our  five  mission  stations  among  the 
Laos,  with  their  sixteen  churches,  one  sub-station 
(Lampun)  and  nineteen  out-stations.  We  have 
had  glimpses  of  the  missionaries  at  their  work, 
some  sowing  in  virgin  soil,  while  others  are  reap- 


326  THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH   SIAM 

ing  a  harvest  at  other  places,  but  all  toiling  happily 
in  faith  and  love,  though  the  burden  is  great  and 
the  heat  of  the  sun  is  all  but  overpowering  at  times. 

When  the  Laos  church  was  in  its  infancy  it 
looked  to  the  missionaries  for  paternal  care,  and  the 
initiative  in  all  branches  of  Christian  activities.  This 
worked  for  both  good  and  evil;  good  in  that  it 
kept  the  church  from  running  ahead  of  its  strength 
and  understanding,  and  allowed  of  full  supervision 
by  the  missionaries;  evil,  in  that  it  was  not  develop- 
ing the  church  into  a  self-propagating,  self-sustain- 
ing body.  But  God  ever  cares  for  his  own,  and 
he  showed  this  danger  very  clearly  to  the  mission. 
Gradually  the  mission  began  to  bend  its  energies 
toward  eradicating  the  evil  and  developing  the 
lacking  element  of  "self-support"  in  the  church; 
and  to-day  it  stands  as  one  of  the  very  best  illustra- 
tions upon  the  whole  mission  field  of  the  world,  of 
a  self-supporting  church,  carrying  on  its  own  edu- 
cational work;  paying  the  salaries  of  its  own  native 
ministers;  giving  liberally  toward  the  Indian 
famine  relief  fund,  and  the  Chinese  relief  fund;  car- 
ing for  its  lepers;  and  sending  out  its  own  mis- 
sionaries to  neighboring  heathen  tribes. 

All  this  being  true,  yet  the  day  is  still  far  distant 
when  the  church  should  be  left  to  itself.  It  needs 
the  missionaries  now  as  never  before.  Much  over- 
sight and  training  and  teaching  and  laboring  by 
them  must  yet  be  done  in  wisdom  and  patience  be- 
fore the  time  is  ripe  for  independence.  The  church 
in  America  should  arouse  herself  as  never  before 
to  send  laborers  to  this  field.  Every  one  of  the 


LAKAWN,   PRE,  NAN,  AND  CHIENG  RAI        327 

stations  that  we  have  visited  calls  for  more  work- 
ers: not  to  come  to  organize  a  new  work,  but  to 
come  to  an  organized,  waiting  work.  The  open 
doors  are  on  every  side.  Each  one  should  be  an 
obligation  to  the  Christians  in  America  to  enter. 
The  work  should  be  extended  until  it  embraces  the 
Laos  of  French  Indo-China,  of  Burma,  and  of 
China  itself.  Especially  should  this  obligation  rest 
upon  the  Presbyterian  Church,  for  she  alone  has  the 
honor  and  privilege  of  working  amid  this  people. 
In  the  past  she  has  won  great  victories.  In  less 
than  thirty-five  years  she  has  gathered  more  than 
three  thousand  souls,  counting  the  dead  with  the 
living,  into  the  visible  church.  But  what  are  these 
few  among  the  millions  of  heathen  about? 

And  there  is  another  reason  why  the  church 
should  put  forth  fresh  efforts  for  the  Laos.  The 
days  of  her  isolation  are  past.  When  the  hand  of 
Dr.  McGilvary  knocked  at  her  mountain  doors  she 
lay  in  ease  and  self-indulgence.  But  the  mission- 
aries came.  They  lived  Christianity  and  taught  it, 
and  a  new  life  stirred  in  the  heart  of  the  Laos 
people.  With  the  thrill  of  God's  love  came  an  up- 
ward striving,  in  material  as  well  as  spiritual  things. 
At  first  the  missionary  was  the  only  agency  to  meet 
this  demand  for  better,  for  higher  things.  But 
now  civilization  is  creeping  in  by  other  channels, 
which  give  mental  and  material  blessings,  but  which 
do  not  point  to  God.  Steam  and  electricity  are 
finding  their  way  into  the  country,  and  also  im- 
proved methods  of  agriculture  and  manual  labor. 
All  these  things  and  many  more  are  good  and  can 


THE   LAOS    OF   NORTH    SIAM 

be  used  for  the  furtherance  of  the  work  if  the 
church  in  America  keeps  abreast  of  it.  But  so 
rapid  is  the  pace  set  by  the  advance  of  these  ma- 
terial things  that  the  vital  question  has  arisen, 
Shall  the  Laos-land  accept  our  civilization,  cast 
her  idols  to  the  bats,  and  yet  be  Godless,  Christless, 
or  shall  she  become  one  of  the  peoples  of  the  Lord? 
There  is  an  old  parable  of  a  man  from  whom 
the  evil  spirit  was  cast.  "When  the  man  found 
that  the  unclean  spirit  was  gone  he  swept  and  gar- 
nished his  house,  but  alas!  he  did  not  open  to  God. 
And  so  the  evil  spirit,  weary  with  wandering,  re- 
turned to  his  former  abode,  and  rinding  it  empty, 
he  went  and  took  unto  himself  seven  more  spirits 
more  wicked  than  himself,  and  they  all  entered 
in  and  dwelt  there,  and  the  last  state  of  that  man 
was  worse  than  the  first."  Shall  it  be  so  with  this 
generation  of  Laos?  God  has  laid  the  solving  of 
this  grave,  momentous  question  at  the  door  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  America. 

"We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling, 

In  a  grand  and  awful  time, 
In  an  age  on  ages  telling; 
To  be  living  is  sublime. 

"Hark!  the  waking  up  of  nations, 

Gog  and  Magog  to  the  fray; 

Hark!  what  soundeth?  is  creation 

Groaning  for  its  latter  day? 

"On !  let  all  the  soul  within  you 

For  the  truth's  sake  go  abroad; 
Strike !  let  every  nerve  and  sinew 
Tell  on  ages,  tell  for  God." 


Hppen&ii 


CHART  OF  THE  TAI  RACE 

This  classification  has  been  adopted  by  the  Laos  Mission,  after 
tours  of  research  and  investigation  made  by  the  Rev.  D.  McGilvpry, 
D.  D..  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Dodd,  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Peoples,  M.  D.,  the 
Rev.  Robert  Irwin,  and  Dr.  W.  A.  Briggs.  Future  investigations 
will  probably  disclose  other  hill  tribes,  but  the  chart  is  complete 
at  this  time.  The  system  of  Romanizing  adopted  by  the  mission 
is  the  International.  It  was  first  proposed  by  the  R.  G.  S.  E.,  and 
is  now  followed  by  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  Germany, 
France,  and  Spain.  It  is  practically  the  system  used  in  The 
Standard  Dictionary.  Vowels  have  their  Italian  sounds,  consonants 
their  English  sounds. 

TAI  RACE 


2.  SIAMESE  SHANS 


PRINCIPAL  BRANCHES 


9- 


*  Yuan..., 

embracing 

peoples 

of 

Lao    . 


Chieng  Mai 

Lampun 

Lakawn 

Pre 

Nan 

Chieng  Rai 

Chieng  Sen 

t  Raheng 

Luang  Prabang  and 

lower  Me  Kawng 
Lu    Sip  Sawng  Pan  Na 

Chieng  Tung  plain  and 

region  adjacent 
Lem Lem  province1 

Tai  Nua  I  *  Found  in  Chieng  Tung 

'  '  \          and  northward 

LAOS  HILL  TRIBES,  MOSTLY  NON-TAI 

Musu  10.  Ka  Mu  (many  varieties) 

Kaw  ii.  Ka  Hawk 

Kuie  12.  Ka  La  Met 

Enn  13.  Tai  Kao 

Pawrawng  14.  Tai  Dam 

Sen  Chiim  15.  Tai  Moi 

Wah 

(a)  Wild  Wah 

(b)  Buddhist  Wah 

(c)  Plang  of  Sam  Tao 

and  Sam  Tiian 
Yao 
Meo 


*  These  embrace  the  peoples  among  whom  the  Laos  Mission  now 
has  stations  planted. 

t  The  Raheng  Province  is  occupied  by  a  majority  of  Siamese 
Shans. 

J  They  are  the  recent  immigrants  from  China.  "Nua  means 
"North." 

331 


LIST  OF  MISSIONARIES  TO  THE  LAOS 

BRIGGS,  WM.  A.,  M.  D 1890 

*BRIGGS,  MRS 1890-1891 

BRIGGS,  MRS.  (Miss  Annabelle  King) 1892 

CALLENDER,  REV.  C.  R 1896 

CALLENDER,  MRS.  (Miss  Winnie  Marks) 1896 

*CAMPBELL,  Miss  M.  M 1879-1881 

CAMPBELL,  REV.  HOWARD 1894 

CAMPBELL,  MRS.  (Miss  Sara  E.  Carlon) 1894 

CARY,  A.  M.,  M.  D 1886-1888 

*CARY,  MRS.  (Miss  Pinkerton) 1886-1886 

CHEEK,  M.  A.,  M.  D 1875-1886 

CHEEK,  MRS.  (Miss  Sarah  B.  Bradley) 1875-1886 

COLE,  Miss  EDNA  S 1879-1886 

(Transferred  to  Siam  Mission.) 

COLLINS,  REV.  D.  G 1886 

COLLINS,  MRS.  (Miss  Ada  F.  Pinkerton) 1886 

CURTIS,  REV.  L.  W 1895-1899 

CURTIS,  MRS.  (Miss  Lillian  S.  Johnson) 1895-1899 

DENM AN,  REV.  C.  H.,  M.  D 1894 

DENMAN,  MRS.  (Miss  Katharine  Andrews) 1894 

DODD,  REV.  W.  CLIFTON 1886 

DODD,  MRS.  (Miss  Belle  Aiken,  1887) 1889 

FLEESON,  Miss  KATHERINE  N 1888 

FREEMAN,  REV.  J.  H 1895 

FREEMAN,  MRS.  (Miss  Emma  E.  Hitchcock) 1899 

(Siam,  1892.) 

GILLIES,  REV.  RODERICK 1902 

GRIFFIN,  Miss  I.  A 1883 

GHORMLEY,  Miss  HATTIE  E 1895-1898 

HARRIS,  REV.  WM 1895 


*Died.    Figures,  term  of  service  on  the  field. 

333 


334  APPENDIX 

HARRIS,  MRS.  (Miss  C.  H.  McGilvary,  1889) ...  .1897 

HATCH,    Miss  JULIA  A 1893-1902 

HEARST,  REV.  J.  P 1883-1884 

HEARST,  MRS 1883-1884 

HANSEN,  C.  C,  M.  D.  (Persia,  1895) 1898 

HANSEN,  MRS.  (Miss  Lillian  D.  Reinhart) 1898 

(Persia,  1893.) 

IRWIN,  REV.  ROBERT 1890 

IRWIN,  MRS.  (Miss  M.  A.  Bowman,  M.  D.,  1895)  •  •  1898 

MARTIN,  REV.  CHALMERS 1883-1886 

MARTIN,  MRS 1883-1886 

MCGILVARY,  REV.  DANIEL  (Siam,  1858) 1867 

McGiLVARY,  MRS.  (Miss  Sophia  B.  Bradley) 1867 

(Siam,  1860.) 

McGiLVARY,  Miss  M.  A 1891 

MCGILVARY,  REV.  E.  B 1891-1894 

McGiLVARY,  MRS.  (Miss  Bessie  A.  Paton) 1891-1894 

MACKAY,  REV.  C.  L 1902 

MACKAY,  MRS.  (Miss  Jean  C.  Dodd) 1902 

McKEAN,  JAMES  W.,  M.  D 1889 

McKEAN,  MRS.  (Miss  Laura  B.  Willson) 1889 

PARKS.  REV.   DAVID 1899 

PARKS,  MRS.  (Miss  Daisy  Booth) 1899 

PEOPLES,    REV.  S.  C,  M.  D 1882 

PEOPLES,  MRS.  (Miss  S.  Wirt,  1883) 1883 

*PHRANER,  REV.  S.  K 1890-1895 

*PHRANER,  MRS.   (Miss  Elizabeth  Pennell) 1890-1891 

*PHRANER,  MRS.  (Miss  E.  L.  Westervelt,  1884) .  .1892-1896 

SHIELDS,  REV.  W.  F 1893-1902 

SHIELDS,  MRS.   (Miss  Lillian  Hendrickson) 1893-1902 

TAYLOR,  REV.   HUGH 1888 

TAYLOR,  MRS.  (Miss  Dora  Belle  Martin) 1888 

THOMAS,  J.  S.,  M.  D 1893 

THOMAS,  MRS 1893 

*VROOMAN,  C.  W.,  M.  D 1871-1873 

WAITE,  REV.  JAMES 1899-1902 


*Died.    Figures,  term  of  service  on  the  field. 


APPENDIX  335 

WAITE,  MRS.  (Miss  Emma  S.  Stanley) 1899-1902 

WAITE,  REV.  ALEXANDER 1899-1902 

WARNER,  Miss  A 1883-1885 

WHITE,  REV.  HENRY 1902 

WHITE,  MRS.  (Miss  Charlotte  Dickson) 1902 

WILSON,  REV.  JONATHAN  (Siam,  1858) 1868 

*  WILSON,  MRS.  (Miss  Maria  Wilkins,  Siam,  1858-1860). 

*WILSON,  MRS.  (Miss  Kate  D.  McLeers) 1868-1885 

WILSON,  Miss  MARGARET  S 1893-1896 

WlSHARD,    MISS 1883-1883 


*Died.    Figures,  term  of  service  on  the  field. 


THE  SHAN  UPRISING 

Since  the  writing  of  this  book,  tidings  come  from  the 
Laos  missionaries  of  a  Shan  uprising  in  the  Laos  prov- 
inces. It  is  impossible  at  this  early  date  to  obtain  full 
particulars,  but  the  principal  facts  are  known  and  are, 
briefly,  as  follows  : — 

For  several  years,  the  Western  Shans,  who  have  enjoyed 
British  rule  in  Northwest  Burma,  have  been  immigrating 
into  the  Laos  province,  settling  in  the  large  cities  as 
traders  or  gathering  into  small  mining  companies  to  work 
iron  and  precious  stones.  Many  of  these  Shans  are  of  a 
roving,  reckless  nature,  and  such  band  themselves  into 
companies  for  the  purpose  of  making  raids  into  the  vil- 
lages. This  lawlessness  has  been  increasing  rapidly  of 
late  years. 

On  July  23,  1902,  the  Siamese  Commissioner  of  the 
Lakawn  province,  annoyed  at  the  escape  of  several  of 
these  thieves  from  his  police,  himself  headed  a  band  of 
eighty  gendarmerie,  and  went  in  search  of  them.  He  ran 
them  into  a  mining  camp,  which  he  attacked,  instead  of 
demanding  their  release,  according  to  local  custom,  from 
the  head  man  of  the  village.  The  camp  was  prepared  for 
resistance,  and  the  Commissioner  had  to  suffer  an  over- 
whelming defeat.  The  Shans,  flushed  with  victory,  began 
to  rally  their  fellow-countrymen,  and  soon  had  a  large 
company  of  armed  men,  partly  equipped  with  the  arms 
of  the  Siamese  gendarmerie,  which  they  had  cast  aside 
in  their  flight  back  to  Lakawn. 

They  *hen  proceeded  to  Pre,  and  surprised  and  captured 
the  city.  For  several  days  carnage  prevailed.  All  Siam- 
ese, including  women  and  children,  were  hacked  to  pieces 
with  swords.  In  order  that  not  one  might  escape,  a 
reward  of  300  rupees  (about  $100)  was  offered  for  every 

336 


APPENDIX  337 

Siamese  killed,  which  rewards  were  paid  from  the  cap- 
tured Siamese  treasury.  The  Shans  and  many  of  the  Laos 
banded  themselves  into  searching  parties,  which  were  but 
lawless  mobs,  frenzied  as  a  tiger  by  the  taste  of  blood,  and 
wild  in  their  greed  for  the  silver  rupees.  We  are  grateful 
to  record  that  the  Christian  Laos  women  and  men  also 
banded  themselves  into  searching  parties,  but  in  order  to 
save  the  poor  Siamese  from  the  sword.  Thus  they  res- 
cued a  large  company  of  women  and  children  and  hid 
them  in  the  jungle,  feeding  them  daily  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas,  who  were  the  only  mis- 
sionaries in  the  station,  were  kept  busy  during  those  days 
of  horror,  caring  for  the  wounded. 

When  the  Shans  approached  Lakawn,  the  authorities  all 
fled  to  Chieng  Mai,  but  the  city  was  prepared  for  defense, 
as  a  Dane,  Mr.  Jansen,  rallied  the  forces  and  succeeded  in 
repulsing  the  attack.  The  ladies  and  children  of  the 
station  had  previously  been  carried  to  Chieng  Mai. 

It  was  not  until  the  middle  of  August  that  the  troops 
from  Bangkok  arrived  and  peace  was  restored.  The  dis- 
turbance had  not  covered  a  month  of  time,  but  into  those 
days  were  crowded  those  horrors  and  awful  deeds  that 
only  a  heathen  people  are  capable  of  perpetrating. 

This  uprising  is  significant  in  that  it  shows  the  dis- 
turbed condition  of  the  Laos  provinces.  The  Laos  sym- 
pathize with  their  near  kinsmen,  the  Western  Shans,  for, 
both  alike  have  grievances  against  the  government.  The 
grievances  which  the  Shans  laid  before  the  British  Consul 
were  many,  but  the  four  principal  ones  were  as  follows : — 

1.  The   Siamese   Government   refused   them  timber  to 
build  temples. 

2.  The  government  refused  to  grant  passports,  and  sub- 
jected the  Shans  to  imprisonment  for  traveling  without 
transports. 

3.  The  taxes  were  exorbitant  and  increasing.     For  in- 
stance, no  one  could  kill  a  pig  or  a  beef  without  paying 
from  one-sixth  to  one-fourth  its  value  as  a  privilege  tax. 

4.  It  was  becoming  more  and  more  impracticable  for 

22 


APPENDIX 

the  Shans  to  procure  homes  and  rice  fields,  or  any  other 
property. 

The  Laos  people  have  many  -kindred  causes  for  dissatis- 
faction, but  their  greatest  grievance  is  the  failure  of  the 
officials  to  remit  government  work  in  lieu  of  the  four 
rupee  poll  tax. 

We  believe  that  the  government  is  sincere  in  its  efforts 
to  establish  a  better  system  of  law  and  order  in  the  prov- 
inces, but  this  is  a  difficult  thing  to  accomplish  when  many 
of  the  officials,  both  Siamese  and  Laos,  are  self-seeking 
and  will  squeeze  so  long  as  their  victims  can  yield  them 
a  penny's  worth  into  their  coffers. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  officials  have  learned  a  whole- 
some lesson  by  this  uprising,  and  that  the  government, 
too,  will  be  awakened  to  a  realization  of  the  grave  state 
of  unrest  and  its  just  causes.  If  so,  then  the  threatened 
recurrence  of  such  uprisings  will  give  place  to  a  new  era 
of  peace  and  prosperity. 


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